Havoc Pressure
by My Wunderwaffle iz missin
Summary: Now against an millennium old weapon, the Blades now seek to put an end to the threat that it poses, working against time to save entire star systems, but they're not the only ones after it. A multibillionaire, hell-bent on payback against the Covenant is driven to see the Blades fail and get it for himself. However the true foes have yet to show themselves. Blades Installment 3.
1. Prologue

**Welcome to the Blades' third story. After much thought, writing and planning, I will be undertaking this story, which will almost be entirely from scratch. Thus, this will probably be the most challenging, so I'm willing to step up to the plate.**

**Halo does not belong to me.**

* * *

**Subterranean location**

**Colony of Imbel Alpha, Slater System**

**January 9, 2502**

A luminous light that seemed to come from no point or origin reflected off the awe of those who stood in the cavern. Nearly big enough to drive two UNSC elephants through with still plenty of room, the enormous discovery had been made just weeks after the assassination of the Secessionist Union head.

Standing at the front of the seven scientists who had been permitted to investigate was Doctor Jose Flores. Raised in the poor areas of Madrigal drove him as an only child to pursue a much higher paying job than what his family could provide. A childhood ravaged by terrorist attacks by the time of 2480 had him stowed away on an evacuation transport without his parents. Fresh out of school, he wound up on Earth, attending two European colleges and earning his various degrees, all culminating in his PhD in archaeology.

Standing next to him was his wife of a decade, Maria, who had a similar story.

Wearing gas masks to protect themselves from any hidden toxic fumes, they had made a fifteen minute journey in the hollow tunnels in silence, letting all of their voices in their heads do the talking.

However the crown jewel of the discovery was a pair of glowing boxes that lay flat on the center of the circular chamber. It appeared to have a massive forerunner glyph on the floor; however cracks from tectonic activity prevented anything from being deciphered. Inside the blue glow was a pitch black object that was on the box's bottom. As Flores approached the containers, they seemed to shift shape into more of an oblique appearance. Strangely the black thing inside also shaped to fit the bottom of the containers, almost as if it was a living thing stored inside. Up directly above the boxes were a trio or prongs and what seemed to be a hole.

"This is absolutely incredible!" One of the scientists couldn't hide her delight. "We could possibly solve so many mysteries with whatever this can be!"

Jose ignored her bubbly manner and continued studying. He looked back up at the only armed person that had accompanied them, Private Gelret. "How's our contamination levels?"

Gelret, a tall man dressed in an Army BDU and an assault rifle took out a small yellow palm sized device, extending out an appendage on its top and watching as the gauge calculated any airborne toxins. An ODST would have one of these measurements built in to detect anything harmful in the air. "Nah, levels are labeled as survivable by a huge margin. It should be okay to take the masks off." His voice was muffled from the mask that he wore along with the other crew, but then reverted back to their calm and friendly demeanor once he stripped the obstruction from his face.

Jose felt his hot face brush against a slight cool breeze in heavy contrast to the stuffy air that his mask had provided. All around him, the others had also taken off theirs.

"This is amazing." He breathed as he crossed the vast chamber to the center. The containers shifted their shape again, going back to their original shape once they arrived. Being about five feet long and two feet tall, the twin boxes looked as much as weighing an empty cardboard.

"Does anybody know what this thing is?" Gelret asked almost nervously.

Jose shook his head, Gelret was always trying his best to insure that he had authority over the group when it came to safety, yet at the same time, the man was only a private. When danger was ready to spring out, he was always the one to ask if it was imminent. Jose doubted that he had ever been though any action whatsoever.

"From what I can tell, it's definitely not ours of origin." The news of a highly advanced race that preluded humanity seemed to fascinate everybody. Jose had visited his alumni only to find out from its headmaster that studies of archaeology, particularly concerning the Forerunners had drastically jumped.

"I can't really tell what exactly it is and without equipment for analysis isn't making things easier. We'll need to get the first labs set up ASAP on the closest surface available."

"I can't allow you to do that." Gelret said, now with some authority and confidence flicking back into his voice, "This is past the minimum safety depth. We're more than half a mile down and unless you plan on running a mine, anything is restricted."

"I don't think those plan on moving anytime soon." Maria pointed back to the boxes, "They may look light but then again, how many times do we underestimate things?"

Gelret sighed, "Alright then, I'll see what I can do with Command." He was obviously not pleased due to his orders being to escort, not act as a counselor. Jose imagined that he was contemplating his chances of promotion or subject to the week's floor sweeper.

Jose waited with Maria until the rest of them had prepared for the journey back up.

"What did you see?" She asked her husband as he approached the artifact, noting that it changed back to the shape when he was close again.

"I just want to see if something happens."

Jose was now over the side of the closer box, observing the black object inside. He reached out a gloved hand to touch the box, surprised when his finger met resistance before it even could make contact with the bluish light surface. Now that he was closer, he saw lines that seemed to compose of particles that would have shifted when the boxes changed appearance to its angled look. He now saw a circle that slowly rose out, passing the point where if his hand was placed there it would be solid.

"Wait!" Gelret shouted, rushing over, "Don't touch anything!"

"Science ignores safety." Flores muttered to himself as he placed his hand on the blue circle. The icon suddenly rose even higher as he withdrew his hand. Slowly the glowing in the massive chamber began to fade until it was simply a dim lighting that barely reflected off the far walls.

It darkened even more as suddenly the second box did likewise. The black object shifted so then it shot up, morphing into various shapes now that it seemed to break free of its prison.

Jose and the others could only watch in awe as it began to spread around the room. Fear now crept up his stomach as the black object now appeared as a climbing liquid, clinging to the chambers wall, giving a healthy radius to the boxes where the crew was stored.

"What the?" One of the scientists stared in disbelief as it began to flow upwards again to the hole, where it suddenly seemed to multiply in volume.

Gelret squeezed the trigger, firing at the side wall. The assault rifle was known to be one of the most versatile and lethal against anything, armor, flesh, shields. This time, the bullets seemed to just disappear when they made contact with the liquid climbing on the wall. There wasn't even a splash for an impact. It was as if the liquid simply burned whatever came into contact with it before it could be affected.

Nobody could contemplate what the liquid was, even as it multiplied yet again as it spread over the chamber, before dripping, sputtering and then a full pouring down upon the crew.

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**All shall be revealed in due time. Although most of you will probably know what is going to happen to these unfortunate scientists. Thanks for reading and reviewing everyone, you give my writing purpose.  
**


	2. Collapse I

**Ankara, Luna**

**May 3, 2551**

Jane Hutchinson gave out a long sigh as she opened the door to her apartment. Stepping inside with a bag full of groceries, she heard her comms device chime with a cheerful musical tone.

Setting her bag on the counter, she rushed over, grabbing the handset and placing it on her ear.

"Hello."

"Hello Jane." A male voice spoke on the other line, her comm did not feature a visual of the other caller, but the sound was all she needed to know his identity.

"Ash, hi."

"Are you settling in okay?"

"Yes, thanks to your generous donation. Covalus' policy was right in saying that it would please its unsatisfied customers. After all you're the founder and chairman."

Ash chuckled, before turning serious. "I suppose so. I'm really sorry that everything wasn't able to be worked out between us."

"You've still been wonderful, even through that."

Both Jane and Ash Covalus had a complicated relationship even through their divorce. It wasn't physical or verbal abuse that went either way, rather the distant times they had together.

Ash Covalus was a rather large man in his late forties with light blond hair. The founder and chairman of Covalus software, he took much pride in his services and the welfare of his company, with a net worth in the multibillions. It was very hard being the leading developer in his industry and thus demanded his utmost attention.

Covalus met Jane Hutchinson during a reception where his company was awarded as the best innovation of the industry, having started out in a small studio apartment in Manassas on Reach. After years of a steadily growing romantic relationship, they quietly married and shortly afterwards, Jane had given birth to their only son. They lived quietly on the moon of Eudemon, where Robert, their son was among the best in school and the star striker in gravball.

Upon the outbreak of the Covenant, Eudemon was among the most outer of the colonies and highly vulnerable. Despite Covalus being vital to the UNSC's software security, the Navy refused the colony governor's pleas to send protection. Ash was forced in overtime, working close with many high ranking officials like Stanforth, Whitcomb, Hood and Parangosky. The strain of his absence, sometimes for months had put unnecessary stress on both Jane and Robert, who had started developing hostility to him.

Immediately, Covalus gave his second in charge control of the company as he tried in vain to repair his marriage and fatherhood. It all culminated when Robert "drafted" into the Marines. In 2549, Ash and Jane after a series of heated disagreements, agreed to a divorce. Finalized the next year, Jane now opted to live by herself , drifting from area to area, now settled in a new apartment complex in Ankara on Luna. When asked in an interview about anything to say to her former husband, she responded that there was no hatred between the two; there was just not enough for them to be together anymore.

"Jane, please pray for our boy."

"I will." She whispered back before hanging up. Both of them still supported Robert very much, sending gifts and keeping touch. Little did they know that Robert's life was about to change on that same day for the worse.

* * *

**Lethbridge, Concord**

"Grenade!"

Robert Covalus saw the arcing blue orb and the scream of his comrade at the same time. Diving flat on the ground away from the thrown explosive, he covered his face, feeling the heat from the deafening detonation wash over his body.

For nearly twenty minutes, Staff Sergeant Covalus and his seven surviving men were on the retreat, with two four person families in front. They had been dropped off by Pelicans to evacuate civilians trapped inside the suburban grocery store. The team was having a quiet exfil for a good couple of miles until one curious jackal sniper inside one of the residences tried to take a potshot at the sergeant's head. The beam rifle missed his helmet by three inches. Although Covalus tightened his grip on the M6D pistol and fired a bullet that had found its mark straight into the sniper's right eye, the shot had alerted every Covenant squad that was searching the streets for targets. Within thirty seconds of alien cries, the Marines hustled the civilians into cover as they held off the advancing hostiles.

"This is Foxtrot-4! We're under heavy fire and on a full retreat with eight civilians! Requesting air support!" Radio operator Corporal Ryo shouted.

"Foxtrot-4, we can get a Hawk to you in five mikes." The radio operator on the other line replied. Being that the Covenant had attacked predictably, there would have been enough time to mount an ample evacuation to save the human population. Thanks to some nasty weather in the Corsica region, particularly the sprawling city of Lethbridge, the Covenant had used the natural element to mask their approach and completely bypass the UNSC blockade waiting for them. The two light Covenant carriers were deploying their scores of troops into the main city while a single destroyer was prowling around to fight off any human vessel that tried to escape. That meant that there would be so much before the ground forces found and annihilated every human survivor after the initial invasion.

"We don't even have five." Ryo muttered in contempt as he ducked behind the cover he was hiding behind. Foxtrot-4 had come across some barricades and thus held out for the time being. They had killed a couple of grunts, but every time they would be about to target another one, their elite leader would pop out, firing his plasma rifle and forcing the marines back.

A white bullet trail whizzed by as a sniper round found its mark into an unlucky blue elite. Purple blood sprayed from the sleek helmet when the warrior toppled to the ground.

"Fall back!" Covalus shouted to his men, "Get through the house and across the street!"

Now the Covenant squads hastily advanced, seeing their opponents in a frenzied run. The grunts excitedly chattered, firing stray bursts from their green plasma pistols. The elites growled in their native tongue pointing to Covalus' retreating form as he darted inside the house.

The interior had to have once been a beautiful home, no doubt to a happy family. The walls had been colored a rich cream and the thousand dollar décor of a copper colored fish was blackened and the head was melted off, most likely from Covenant weaponry. Covalus barricaded the door once the squad sniper, Johnny was the last one inside.

The marines swept the house, tightening when they heard the squealing of grunts outside. In the middle of the bottom room, the civilians huddled in the center. Covalus moved to radio for evac.

"Foxtrot Actual, this is Foxtrot-6!" Another squad had cut in on his line for their commander.

"I can barely read you son." The calm voice of Foxtrot Actual came over, "What's your status?"

"We've got no civilians in tow! The whole neighborhood's deserted!" Gunfire of both plasma and ballistic weapons could be heard in the background.

"Fall back to West Avenue and hold for extraction. If you're listening Foxtrot-4, fall back to the same position."

"Foxtrot-4 moving out." Robert radioed back, walking into the main room of the house.

"Alright men, we're moving to the West Avenue for extraction. We're going to need a distraction for the Covies."

"Let's get moving." Johnny inserted a fresh magazine into his sniper, "We can use some grenades at the door to give a couple of the serious a surprise."

"Good call." Covalus regarded Ryo next. The Japanese Marine was fiddling with the radio, "You manage to get our bird?"

"Affirmitave, patching the pilot to you now."

A female voice wafted from the other line, "Foxtrot-4, this is Thunderbolt. I'm en route to your location, ETA twenty seconds."

"Thunderbolt." Covalus lowered to a whisper when he saw a marine make a throat slash gesture to him. He knew why, there was a blue armored elite right outside their window. "We've got a Covies surrounding the house, but they're afraid to come in."

"I'll hose em up for ya and will give as much of an escort as I can."

"Foxtrot-4 out." He turned abck to Johnny, who now held his last two fragmentation grenades in his hand. "You ready?"

"Yes sir."

Robert had Ryo lead the remaining marines to the garage where a pair of expensive looking cars sat, untouched by the war surrounding the suburban area. When they were at the front, ready to spring out, Covalus and Johnny pulled the pins on their grenades, setting it at the back door and then running. They were nearly to the garage when the explosives detonated. The wooden door instantly transformed into thousands of toothpicks, flying at incredible speeds. Weakened by the grenade's blast, the elite on the other side had little time to flinch when the splinters jabbed at his unarmored sections. Grunts ran away in terror as their larger leaders gave out frustrated roars to keep their men in line.

"GO! GO!" Robert shouted. Stunned by his words, the marines formed a surrounding shield over the eight civilians as they sprinted out of the house. More Covenant troops spotted the group, firing pink needlers and plasma rifles. A few of the marines returned fire, killing a couple of grunts, but kept moving until the needles seemed to scatter, as if not intent anymore on finding something to kill.

Robert and Johnny sprinted after their comrades, who were now on the side of West Street. Overhead, they heard the whipping sound as the sleek sparrowhawk hovered overhead, tracking their Covenant pursuers. The four barreled machine gun on the chin began spinning as it unloaded rounds into the hapless soldiers.

Suddenly, plasma fire raked the ground. Covalus looked up in horror to see a quartet of banshees after them. The marines dove into the side of another luxury house on West Street, making sure to shield the unarmed with their bodies. One of them peeled off and started firing at the hawk.

"Gah!" Thunderbolt's pilot cursed under her breath, "Sorry Foxtrot-4, you're going to be without air support until I get these fuckers off my back."

"Acknowledged Thunderbolt." Covalus looked skyward, watching as Thunderbolt charged her side lasers. A lance of red energy struck one of the attacking banshees, sending it to the ground where it impacted in a purple explosion, fragments of the aircraft flying everywhere. Narrowly dodging a triangular piece, he ducked back inside

"Foxtrot Actual, we're at the exfil point."

"Copy that Foxtrot-4, Foxtrot-6, are you there?"

"We're here! Uh, they've just got reinforcements! More Covenant approaching, from West Street."

"More?" Foxtrot Actual's voice lost its calm edge.

"They've got some huge sword toting elite leading the assault, three ghosts and a handful of squads!"

"We're not going to make it." Ryo muttered.

"Foxtrot Actual, what's the evac bird's ETA?"

"She's heading your way in ten mikes."

"Negative!" Covalus shouted back, "We won't survive five!"

"That's all we have. Foxtrot-4. Just sit tight."

"Sir, with all that enemy movement right around the corner, we'll never make it to the evacuation zone." Ryo noted, looking outside.

"You will make it." Covalus looked outside. Everyone surprisingly looked up at him.

"Sergeant?" Johnny asked, already knowing that he had in mind.

"Start your heading to the evacuation." He started to head outside.

"Are you crazy? That's suicide!" One of the civilians shouted. He was an older man, most likely a father to the two little children beside him.

"You're right." Robert grinned. "So if I were you, I'd put some ground between the Covies and yourself."

Most of the time, it would have been a lesser ranked soldier if someone had to sacrifice themselves. The concept of a noble sacrifice was a thought if they had no choice but to head straight to their deaths. Most of the time, the sacrifice was in vain as the Covenant onslaught continued. However the dead didn't know that. At least physically.

"It's been an honor Sergeant." Ryo was the first of his men to respond, snapping a firm salute before heading the others out. Some of them gave him a somber last look. Covalus didn't regret what he was about to do, it was his duty to protect the human race and so be it if it meant that it would cost his life.

He had waited a full five minutes when he was certain that the men were far away. Opening the door, he now saw the three ghosts in a triangular formation. In the front was a white armored elite, wielding a sword that seemed to sizzle in the cool air.

He aimed his pistol at the head to the leader, squeezing off a single shot. He was planning to take down at least one elite before falling and the chandelier in the house's atrium that he saw earlier provided just what he needed.

The single M225 round glanced off the shields, flaring up the entire armor. White armored elites were known to have among the most powerful shield systems. It made sense, higher ranking elites usually had better protection.

Instantly, the three ghosts broke their formation, moving rapidly as they tracked Covalus at the entrance. The elite charged forward, closing the width of the street in five strides. Looking as if he was running for his life, the sergeant turned tail, sprinting back to the atrium. The elite snarled, as if irritated that his prey had fled.

Covalus saw the elite spot him and began to cross the atrium. Timing it right, he raised the pistol, firing a shot straight upwards.

The heavy chandelier, supported only by a thin chain, snapped instantly when the armor piercing bullet tore right through. Without anything to hold it, the mass of metal and glass fell quickly. The elite looked up at the moving shadow, already raising his sword arm to parry what he may have thought was another attacker. The chandelier made his death fast and painless. Covalus smiled as he kicked the arm protruding out of the side, still clutching the sword.

More blue plasma fire erupted from the doorway as a second elite had stepped through. Although this one had red armor, he was likely no less dangerous.

Covalus swung his rifle around, bringing it upon the stomach of his opponent. The elite fell back, the plasma rifle skittering across the floor.

He punched the larger alien in the face, straddling him like a wrestler. The shields this time popped, his hand stung but he ignored it reaching for his pistol to put the hinge-head down.

As he trained the sights on the ugly head, he felt something warm in his stomach. He was suddenly unable to breathe and looked down, gathering the last bit of strength to pull the trigger. Covalus found it even harder than last time, finally discharging a round and hitting the left shoulder. The elite cried out, and drove the sword into his stomach even deeper.

Robert Covalus shook as the gun fell out of his hands. The elite deactivated the ceremonial sword, watching his human opponent take his last breath.

During the UNSC offensive, a corporal had found the body of Covalus next to the dead one of the sangheili ultra. Sealing it in a body bag, there was no point in shipping it home, no matter how much the distraught parents had bribed.

The hilt of the sword that he had died on was also recovered next to the corpse. It would be months later when the team asked one of the sangheili, who were now allied with humanity about the hilt of the sword they had found. The rune was unlike any other from what they had deciphered from the Covenant language.

The sangheili minor shrugged, saying that it wasn't a word, rather a crest. He said it was the crest of the Talam lineage.

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**Thanks for reading and reviewing everyone. You give my writing purpose!**


	3. Collapse II

**UEG Diplomatic shuttle DS-2687**

**September 11, 2558**

When a drop of the amber champagne slipped from the confines of the crystal flute onto the collar of his multi hundred credit jacket, ambassador Jonah Beech cursed under his breath.

Taking pride in his expensive suits as well as anything that was remarkable in his life, Beech was the ambassador to Hesduros, a sangheili colony world that had known ties to the Storm Covenant, a large fleet and army that declared war on humanity and the Arbiter, who remained in power over Sanghelios.

An accomplished diplomat in his life, he came from a family of politicians that were ambassadors in separate colonies or countries. Yet Beech was distinct from his ancestors. He was the first human ambassador to a sangheili area. Following the war's end, humans and sangheili continued to bicker, yet still an uneasy cooperation arose from the ashes when the two races had worked together to defeat the nefarious Prophet of Truth and his brute followers.

Beech was assigned by the UEG president to Hesduros where he worked as an ambassador, holding the title since late 2553. His charisma and ability to brighten any room with his presence made him crucial to shortening the Storm Covenant's attempts to gain followers on Hesduros. Although they had made a substantial presence on the planet, most notably the state of Panom, Beech was on the loyalist side, well under the protection of those that remained allied with the Arbiter.

"What's wrong Jonah?" His longtime friend and aide Trent Paulus asked.

"Spilled again on my suit." Beech gave a sigh from his plump cream colored seat. "I have the shakiest hands."

"I don't think that was the problem." Paulus pointed out, "It may have been the shuttle."

The Diplomatic Shuttle or DS was the primary means of transport for UEG officials. Something along the lines of private jets, they were sleek, fast and mainly looked cool enough to turn heads whenever their high pitched engine music echoed wherever it went.

DS-2687 was among the countless shuttles of the mainstream class. She was nearly 400 feet long from bow to stern, painted in the standard white and blue colors of the UEG and CAA. Her bridge was at the front, slightly above where the nose of the ship lay, indicated by the radical blue lights that came form inside the room whenever the outside was dark. Her hull widened as it neared the stern, where a pair of angled tailfins bore the UNSC emblem and stretched upwards to reduce drag and increase the turning capability, even at high speeds.

The shuttles were also known for their speeds. Using two units of the RL140 APG, it could propel her to speeds that would outrun her previous class that the UEG had used as government transports between worlds. The engine models were among the most expensive on a non-warship and thus reserved for only the richest and best transports that were properly outfitted to use them.

Beech had to pull some arms, especially with the President, who in turn saw his actions in keeping the aggressive sangheili at bay on Hesduros as a justified action and agreed to send the more expensive transport.

"Why don't we head back to the dining area?" Paulus held up his empty flute. "I heard that the Korean meal is about to start."

Beech smiled as Paulus went back inside. The pilots were now bringing her around Imbel Alpha, a beautiful green, white and blue gem in the night. Most of the time, he would simply stand at the observation deck when the shuttle passed a colony. Seeing everything from orbit always bewildered him. Nature's theater from an outer space seat.

Something caught Beech's eye as the shuttle sped closer, they would transition back into slipspace after slingshotting around the planet on their way back to Earth. Since the war was over, the Cole Protocol was not in effect anymore.

The western side, where the sun was shining had a dullish look to it. The texture was vastly different than anything he had ever seen. Even when far away, it began moving forward, spreading out over the atmosphere. Within a full minute, a patch of over one hundred square miles was completely blackened out.

Up in the shuttle's front, Captain Jhira had spotted the growing clouds. The gray substance was previously black when the sun shone on it. As the shuttle began moving closer to the planet, the cloud began to grow even more, this time height wise. Expanding as far as it would go; the enormous column seemed to multiply in size, moving towards the shuttle as if attempting to touch it.

"Get the main engines to perform an extra thirty percent."Jhira told executive officer Kabir. Both of them being veteran pilots of starships in the past and now also worked as part of the India travel agency. Kabir had been his first officer for countless years and they anticipated one another easily and more than anyone expected. Jhira pulled back on the steering controls, allowing the shuttle to bank around the planet for a quicker slingshot. The pillar of grey was now closer.

"What the hell is that stuff?" Kabir squinted against the glare of the sun.

"I don't know, but we should probably avoid it."

"Agreed." The captain raised the shuttle as far as it could go as they approached even closer to the pillar. It looked as if it were now close enough to touch, yet they were still thousands of miles away. Further down on the column, there was an explosion of even more gray stuff. The increase in matter inflated even more as the mysterious matter continued to multiply. Now the shuttle was nearly directly above the rising pillar, which was likely hampered because of the atmosphere limits.

Right in front of the pilots, another explosion of gray seemed to just commence out of nowhere. The plumes jumped above the shuttle, slowing as they extended further out from their origin.

Jhira spotted a gap between two of the fingers that had jumped right in front of him, twisting the controls to allow the shuttle straight through.

As they passed in between, they saw even more smaller particles of the gray stuff in between. At first, it began as small splats that were raindrop sized when they impacted the glass of the cockpit, but then they increased in size. Upon their impact, they began spreading immediately, until the entire glass was completely obscured. Immediately Kabir looked in alarm when a screen in the center started flashing and beeping in a rather manic way. The rear of the shuttle was highlighted, signaling a breach in the hull.

Back in the dining room, Beech had returned to the head table with his aides, a bowl of premium vanilla ice cream and a dark chocolate brownie. They were discussing their next plan of action when he motioned everyone to be silent. It sounded like a whooshing sound, like rushing water. One of his aides noted that it was getting harder to breathe. She was right.

Then he saw a small trickle of a silver dirtlike thing start entering the room where the abnormal sound originated. The stain clung to the door ascending up the side, defiant to the artificial gravity generator.

The stain's texture was like graphite and it was shining that resembled glitter. Beech stood up, knocking his dessert from the table. The leading edge of the stain touched the bowl, swarming over the brownie and spilled ice cream, covering it in a matter of seconds. Closer looks made it more of a metallic sand that slid over itself as it expanded in size. Beech and his aides backed away, in between a state of fear and wonder.

"Come on." Paulus pointed to the ceiling, "We can get out through the vents."

The group quickly pulled up a few tables where Beech gave his aide a boost so that she could pop open the vents. He gave her a boost inside and helped the others until it was just him an Paulus. The metallic substance now began to touch and climb up the legs of the table. This time, both men climbed on the table. It now started to buckle under the increased weight of the two men. Beech managed to jump and hang on to the edge of the vents, but Paulus fell, splashing into a puddle of the silvery liquid. He grunted as if he had been stung. His fingers had all grey water on them and when he tried wiping it on his pristine jacket, it still remained, but now clung to his clothes as well. Paulus reached back up, suddenly giving out a scream of pain. Looking down, he saw the particles already coating his knees and quickly rising up. Beech could now see him panicking and rubbing his arms in a vain attempt to wipe off the mysterious attackers. When he opened his mouth, the silvery graphite liquid seeped inside, causing him to gurgle. Choking, Paulus collapsed on the floor, his movements becoming slower.

Beech now couldn't see his friend, having been consumed like a horde of killer ants. One of his other aides was also near the swarm which now began to cover the lips of the vent.

The shuttle suddenly started to violently tremble, as if in the epicenter of a massive earthquake. The movements sent the silvery substance right towards them. Automatically raising his hand up to shield his face, he felt something cold and metallic touch his fingers.

The sensation on his hand was just like someone had poured rubbing alcohol over an open wound. He ignored it, watching in horror as one of his other aides screamed out, the grey substance covering him. It dawned on him that these were going to be his last seconds.

Beech crawled in agonizing pain as the metallic liquid continued to cover his body. In his mind, he prepared for the worst.

* * *

**Black death! How does this connect with everything?**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing everyone! You give my writing purpose.**


	4. Collapse III

**Mastema, Eudemon**

**September 12, 2558**

Eudemon was a satellite orbiting a massive blue colored gas giant. The only habitable moon out of the three that circled the planet, it was among the largest colonies that were ever on a satellite. Nearly as large as the Saturnian moon Titan, Eudemon's atmosphere required little terraforming, since it already had partially an oxygen nitrogen atmosphere and water that flowed in small seas. Much else of what land was on the moon was desert terrain. Vegetation was very little due to the colony's hot climate during three quarters of its year. It was a popular destination for tourists, especially the coastal cities like Mastema.

During the Human-Covenant War, Eudemon had been among the first of the border colonies, out of the way towards the Inner, but close enough to escape the Outer designation. Spies from the alien empire had already detected the moon and its human presence. Since there were no artifacts and its location was of no strategic value, they decided to focus elsewhere, coming back later to finish them off. Fortunately for humans residing on the hot moon, the war had ceased before an invasion could be mounted.

After hostilities ceased, Eudemon suddenly had one of its biggest economic growth. Having headquartered Covalus Security, it attracted business, luxury and everything in between.

However, most of the colony was in riots and ruin.

Recently, the governor of Eudemon had allowed sangheili settlers to occupy areas in the desert that were relatively close to human cities. There were currently five sangheili states on Eudemon, but the people wanted none.

News releases of human and sangheili riots in their respective cities have hampered any progress on the relations between the two races. More than once, these outbreaks have occurred because of an armed sangheili defended himself from a human attacker and ended up with the human dead. Either way, the sangheili states on Eudemon did not like the humans and vice versa. Attempts by both races to control the other, often resulted in even more violence. Neither side had a force to contain rogue aliens.

That was the reason why the rusty looking ship was entering Eudemon's atmosphere. Slightly longer than a Paris frigate, she was actually a top-secret vessel. The paint of the dilapidation was merely to deter attention from investigators who wanted to be detective.

The _Ballista_ remained overhead, like an ominous shadow as she opened her main hangars, deploying two pelicans and a threatening phantom. Far from any traffic, they accelerated across the sky before settling down near a bunch of large drydocks, the closest one unoccupied by a ship.

The Pelican closest to the group standing at the edge of the raised platform peeled off, settling down on the elevated landing pad. Doors opened with a puff of steam and a hiss as the seal to the cabin was broken. Inside, the occupants were a mix of humans and sangheili. When they walked out to the group in front, the other side couldn't help but gape.

No human that was in the dropship was below seven feet tall. Wearing the iconic MJOLNIR armor by Spartans, they were intimidating and deadly just by looking at them. Every Spartan's armor was slightly different than the others surrounding them.

To the Spartans and the accompanying sangheili, the group they just met looked like they might as well have been stuck on a ship stranded in space than regard the other side. A human with the suit of a colonial governor stood with a handful of armed men as bodyguards. Across from them, there were two sangheili, one of them covered in a light of gold and silver armor. The kaidon harness was composed from precious metals and highly desirable, but could only be obtained by one elite at a time. Beside the kaidon was a blue armored sangheili minor, who was most likely a translator.

"Welcome to Eudemon!" The human governor greeted them once the Spartan nodded. At the same time, the kaidon had uttered a single word in his tongue and stepped forward. The minor gulped and translated, "Welcome to the colony of Eudemon."

Both the governor and kaidon had moved forward to shake hands with the Spartan who stood in front. They halted in mid stride and stared at one another.

Although it was indistinguishable from behind his red Solar visor of the Air Assault helmet, Spartan couldn't suppress a grin.

"Pleasure." He returned the pleasantries, shaking both the governor's hand and the kaidon's. Surprisingly, the sangheili made no effort to squeeze and cause him pain, even if his palm was bare.

"I am Governor Michael Florette of Eudemon. Thank you so much for coming."

"Governor, it's a pleasure to meet you." The Spartan repeated, "Spartan Trip Aegis, commander of the Strike Blades."

"I suppose that you'll be working with both sides."

"I will." Aegis replied, looking now at the kaidon. The larger sangheili towered over him, but this time after so many years of war, made no move to attack. Aegis looked down and saw a deactivated energy sword clipped to his belt. On his left shoulder, there appeared to be some wound that was long gone, most likely inflicted during wartime.

The kaidon uttered some more gibberish to the translator, who in turn relayed it to Aegis. "I am kaidon Akuo Talam of the sangheili state of Talam. I hope you enjoy your time here and strengthen our ties with our former human adversaries."

"I will be." Aegis replied, at the same time gesturing to another pair of Spartans to go with Florette.

"I will be working with the elites for the majority of my time. I'm sending some Spartans to work with your police."

"Thank you Spartan Aegis." Florette replied, gesturing for Conan Pyra and a second Spartan named Armes to follow him to his pelican. Aegis, Spartan Suvorov and the three sangheili that had accompanied him on the flight headed to the edge of the platform, where Akuo's purple phantom awaited.

Once they were inside the craft, the translator strapped himself into the control seat and toggled a few icons. Within moments the hum of the engines grew in volume, the side bay doors shut and they felt acceleration under their boots.

In the back, one of the sangheili that accompanied Aegis was speaking with the kaidon in the sangheili language. To him, the linguistics were all a bunch of gibberish, Vaal Talam was his third in command speaking and one of his best friends.

The flight took twenty minutes before the translator began to descend the aircraft and open the side doors. Now the landscape had drastically changed. The sun was now setting; a yellow star that now dimmed the horizon to a gorgeous pink. Compared to their arrival at Eudemon earlier, the landscape was now drastically different.

The sand shifted in an endless sea of rising dunes. Small streams of water had cut grooves into the rockier areas where they pooled into reservoirs and served as an oasis for the clusters of palm trees surrounding them. Further along, the rivers expanded into irrigation channels that flowed into fields of large stalklike plants being tended to by a few sangheili farmers.

Aegis was amazed at how quickly the elites, managed to start their own techniques of growing their food. When he was an ONI agent, he was told that sangheili food was mostly imported by other species, as they focused more on training the most feared warriors the Covenant could produce. However, with the prophets now dead or in hiding, they suddenly had an immense shortage of food. Power had shifted towards agriculture and hunting, making backwater states on sanghelios like Mdama become more powerful. This shift in power indirectly gave the state a huge boost in firepower in their war against the Arbiter.

The first buildings began to appear, purple and blue lined structures that shimmered in the desert heat. Completely foreign to most elite cities, Trip and the humans could only stare in amazement. Had they not been traveling for longer, they may have concluded that they were on another world.

The phantom weaved through some of the taller buildings, some of which were still under construction until it circled a larger building. The kaidon's keep rose into a spire and was surrounded by several sniper towers. In the north side, Aegis could see a motor pool outfitted with four wraith mortar tanks and a handful of ghosts.

The pilot maneuvered the large dropship into a hangar on one of the higher towers. When he halted all movement and began communicating with the control to begin shutdown sequence, the passengers began moving. Outside, a group of armored sangheili awaited their arrival, all of them had a translator device on their helmet.

Akuo remained standing by Vaal as he began to speak to the group gathered in front of them. Thanks to his pilot, he now had a translator device on his side as well.

"Brothers, I bring the Strike Blades led by Spartan Trip Aegis." He found it comical that sangheili had difficulty pronouncing the "p" so instead his name was something like "Triff"

"He and his crew will be showing you, who will in turn begin exercises to help quell and human insurgency that is plaguing our state. Another group of his will be demonstrating these techniques and drills to the humans so that we can stop these blasphemic acts of terror." He gestured to Aegis, "The floor is yours demon."

Aegis ignored the demon part and stood in front of the two dozen sangheili dressed in what he guess was a police type of combat harness. "Alright. Now I've been hearing out both human and elite terror acts going on in the State of Talam. Kaidon Akuo was kind enough to let me use this hangar as a drill zone." He could feel some of the elites standing as straight as possible, trying to intimidate him. However, he had faced elites and brutes that were much taller than the police force standing before him, so he ignored it. "From what I've heard is that every time you capture a human who just decides to attack your fellow countrymen, you then send warriors to do a killing spree on the human side of the colony. Before you know it, the governor will be evicting you faster than you can swing your swords to cut his head off."

None of the elites made any move, partially since the things that he said was right.

"If you want to continue living here with the fact that you and humans can live side by side in harmony, these attacks must stop. On both sides."

"You speak of nobility." One elite finally decided to interrupt his speech. Aegis whirled around as the surrounding policemen parted. The interrupter was much taller than him, but a couple of inches shorter than Vaal. "You're a demon. All you know how to do is kill us and the remainder of the Covenant."

"Silence Herl!" Akuo snapped from his spot.

Aegis held up a hand, stemming anything the kaidon had left to say. "So what you're saying is that I'm not qualified to teach? If so, then why didn't your kaidon hire someone else?"

"Unfit is all." Herl chuckled, joined by a few others. Vaal placed his hand over Akuo's arm, halting his attempt to draw his sword.

"You think I'm unfit?" Unbeknownst to him, Aegis had a smirk on his face. "Why don't you come here and show me how unfit I am?"

With a few encouraging words from his friends, Herl stepped forward. Aegis stood opposite as Akuo backed the remaining Blades up to give the two ample room to fight. Aegis removed his combat knife from his sheath, dropping it on the floor and kicking it away.

"Lesson number one." He began speaking as if a lecturer addressing his class. Just as he finished speaking, Herl sprinted forward. Trip's reflexes kicked in as the elite made a grab for him. In his augmented vision, the charge was much slower to someone without his boost.

Aegis twisted around, slipping right through the larger elite's grasp. Recovering from the shock, he swung a hammer arm aimed straight at his visor. Using the larger beast's strength against him, Trip drove the arm into the ground so that he was leaning on it. He then sprung up, using his legs. With Herl dazed from the impact of his arm, he used his weight to wrench the free arm into a lock behind the back. The arrogant elite snarled, struggling a bit to free himself. Trip anticipated the movements, making adjustments as necessary to keep him pinned. After a few seconds, he looked around at everyone.

All the elites, save for Vaal, Rak and the third Blades member named Kraz had their maws agape. Even kaidon Akuo couldn't suppress his disbelief that an elite was subdued by a Spartan without even using a weapon. The Spartan Blades members all bumped fists. Trip finally relented after the kaidon nodded at him and then got off. Herl glowered at him, but made no retaliatory move before joining the crowd again. Murmurs starting growing before Akuo held up his hand and let Trip continue.

"Never underestimate your opponent."

Unfortunately, that was drilled in sangheili nature.

In the middle of a takedown exercise that he had done to Herl and then demonstrated for drills, using Vaal as the "insurgent elite" Trip's com started to ring. The signal was bordering on the weak end, so he strode to the hangar's edge, where the blocking metal walls were the least interfering.

"Spartan Aegis."

"Trip, we've got a problem."

Whenever his main client Adamant said that, nothing ever was good. Usually when they were called in for a job, there was something even more ominous on the horizon.

"Full details." He put a recording on the call in lieu of his absent note taking utilities.

"Yesterday we lost contact with our Hesduros ambassador Jonah Beech. His shuttle was returning from the world when it disappeared around Imbel Alpha."

Imbel Alpha was pretty far from most other colony worlds. The only habitable world of the Slater System, it was always quite a trip even. Hesduros was located quite far away and if he was headed to Earth, Imbel Alpha was definitely not on the stopping routes.

"Didn't Imbel Alpha get glassed?"

"It did. We have no idea how or why his shuttle disappeared. I need you to report back to Earth for assistance in investigating. I'm willing to offer up twenty four million if you manage to solve the mystery."

"As much as I'd love to play detective, I'm currently training local forces on Eudemon how to be proper police teams."

"Just be here tomorrow and I can work something out." Adamant cut the connection.

Aegis sighed, returning to the group just as operation director Vasili Suvorov, another ONI veteran and Spartan IV was introducing another takedown move, performed by Rak. He sat down again, looking up when Vaal's shadow passed over him.

"So how did we manage to get us this job anyway?"

"What's new?" Vaal leaned against the side of the docked phantom, already knowing something was on Trip's mind.

"Playing detective. Ambasador's shuttle disappeared around a glassed colony."

"Perfect. Just when things got easy."

"Don't let that stick up to you." Aegis grinned, "You seem to know the kaidon very well."

"We've known each other for decades."

"That explains your friendship."

"It's more complex than that," Vaal followed his gaze to the kaidon, watching with mild interest as another one of his enforcers performed Vasili's instructions for a maneuver on the green armored Spartan. "Kaidon Akuo Talam is my younger brother."

* * *

**Woah! Vaal has a younger brother?!**

**Just a heads up that this story has a deadline, updates will be more frequent. Good huh?**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing everyone! You all give my writing purpose!**


	5. Investigation I

**New Alexandria Spaceport**

**New Alexandria, Reach**

**September 13, 2558**

Adamant was waiting for Aegis when he emerged from the arrivals section of the massive spaceport. Transforming itself drastically after the Covenant devastated Reach in 2552, the city of New Alexandria became the largest hub for the planet's environmental and economic recovery. New Alexandira was one of two remaining major cities that were the least damaged, the spaceport being one of them and redesigned as the largest transportation hub thanks to a new travel line company that spanned most colonies. The two Reach's pre and post war were highly different. Now a variety of older and newer spacecraft took off and landed. The spires of the highest buildings now began to reach for the sky. Much of the things that even normal civilians carried around were improved from Covenant designs, com devices included.

The ONI contractor had lied, instead calling a reservation at one of the spaceport's private lounges waiting once Trip came out. He forewent bringing a set of MJOLNIR armor or any weapons, thus having only a one strap backpack with two extra sets of clothes, one for casual and the other for business. One of his shorts pockets had a wallet with several hundred credits and the other had his datapad.

"I suppose your training of the peacekeepers is going well?" He asked once they both entered their designated room. He had already obtained the card keys from the lounge receptionist before Aegis' flight arrived. Now both men were standing at the window, observing the busy traffic lining up for the long concrete runway for their takeoff roll into the black void.

"I guess you can say that." Trip observed a new model craft beginning its takeoff before turning back. "Since Eudemon is rife with terrorism that's centered around race superiority, we're training both sides to handle situations in such scenarios."

"You're training elites?"

"Yeah, ever heard of Spartans giving elites a lesson in combat?"

"Nope it's a first." Both men shared a chuckle. Adamant walked over to the bar, pouring himself a shot of whiskey. Trip gave him a nod when he had a second glass. He turned serious afterwards moving to his briefcase, "Jonah T. Beech, ambassador to the elite world of Hesduros, where there's been a lot of anti-human activity. He's been responsible for helping quell pro-Storm rallies and keeping any of their attempts to be in vain for support in their cause."

Adamant slid a few papers over the counter. Aegis studied them for a minute, all on Beech's biography.

"There's been no contact with him, his aides, staff, not even the pilots of the shuttle. All the flight plan said was that it was to slingshot around Imbel Alpha and start its slipspace jump to the refuel station."

"What about the pilots? Since Beech had handpicked his staff like most ambassadors in foreign relations, the only wildcard he could see was the pilots being moles for a terror group or elites wanting his efforts on Hesduros to cease.

"Captain Jhira and executive officer Kabir both served in the UNSC Air Force's India section. Both flew Shortswords during the war for seven years, Kabir for four and they were the pilots of shuttle DS-2687 for two years, replacing the previous crew after a scandal was discovered."

"Can't be the pilots, why do you ask for me to come investigate?"

"You're not the one doing much of the investigation." Adamant's face lit with a slight smugness, "You're more of a watchdog."

He typed something in his datapad. A moment later a woman walked through. Immediately locking eyes with the thirtyish petite figure he judged that the career paralleling the individual was flawless. Her blond hair was tied back in a ponytail, matching the dark blue business suit.

"I'd like to introduce you to Miss Rachel Morand. She's the only aide of Ambassador Beech that did not go on this trip. Thus she would be his successor."

"Pleasure to meet you." Trip could detect awe in the woman's voice as he towered over her. He gently squeezed her hand when she outreached for a shake.

"You will be accompanying Miss Morand to Beech's home on Earth. I've got more on details that I will send."

Adamant turned to leave, but Aegis being a Spartan beat him to the door, moving so fast Rachel didn't even know he left his chair until he was face to face with the ONI contractor.

"How much are you willing to pay for investigation? Does my entire team require involvement?"

"Only if the stakes demand it." Adamant shrugged, he was used to Aegis' suspicions, having worked with him for months now. In his previous encounters with the shady man, the Blades were responsible for stopping a Storm Covenant's attempt to destroy the _Infinity_ and later halted an illegal gold mining operation presided by corrupt bankers and skirmisher warlords.

"For the entire investigation and the ambassador's disappearance, I'm guessing fifteen million." He stepped forward, slipping something into Aegis' hand. "I'm off to other projects. Report in when you find something."

"He's always in a hurry isn't he?" Rachel asked once Adamant had closed the door and was out of earshot.

"That's what being a spook is all about." Aegis was scrolling through the datapad, reading the intelligence Adamant sent him. Rachel circled him, peering into what he was reading.

Normally he would have immediately turned away if it had been a random stranger, but for the time being, Rachel was currently a coworker on his newest assignment. He finished reading, pressing the home button. She spotted a picture that was on his pad's background. He was much younger, with a woman that had the same color blond hair as herself looking jovial and very happy with one another.

"Are you married?" She finally asked after a minute of silence.

"I was going to be." Trip's tone wavered as emotions began to resurface. His back was turned to her, resuming watching the arriving and departing traffic. It was clear to her that he didn't want to talk about it. She didn't press the matter.

"Well we had better get going. Our first class flight leaves in less than two hours."

"First class?" Her eyes brimmed with excitement. He was mildly surprised that an aide for a wealthy ambassador hadn't experienced the prosperity of being first class on public transport.

Aegis nodded, "If you've never experienced it before, prepare to be blown away."

After checking in and earning their VIP pass through security checks, they entered another lounge. While not as luxurious as the ones Adamant rented earlier in the spaceport, they were rather designed for travelers that were not planning on a long stay. The marble of the bar was an elegant black and the cured wood accented the atmosphere of a quiet peaceful place where one could find solace from a frantic day of travelling across the planet or even in between colonies, which Trip and Rachel were about to embark on. Mouthwatering aromas of food wafted from the far counter, where trays and heated bowls lay. At the bar, there was an assortment of drinks.

"All this food is free?"

"That's where half of the over the roof ticket price comes from." Trip gave a slight chuckle as Rachel grabbed a plate and started helping herself.

"So what are we going to be doing while there?"

"First off, we're going to arrive at his workplace in Sacramento," He had seriously underestimated her appetite when she was attacking the bruschetta and toasted bread. Even then, she ate as if eating with British royalty. He grinned, "Then I'm going to teach a politician how to break into a house."

* * *

**Trip's newest assignment...babysitting an aide, how fun. Nah, they'll have plenty of fun with what...or rather who they find.**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing everyone, you give my writing purpose.**


	6. Investigation II

**Thansan War College Secondary Facility**

**State of Talam, Eudemon**

**September 13, 2558**

Underneath the protection of a sunroof from the sun's harsh rays, a lone elite was enjoying the evening. In the distance, a smooth repetitive song of waves crashed against the craggy shore that the deck provided an astounding view of.

As the night began to cloak the moon into darkness, the Thansan War College began to ignite to life. Visible on the horizon from the city center of the Talam state, the college was a viable landmark for future sangheili generations. It was considered one of the top honors to even get noticed by the academy. Apprentices filed out of their lecture sessions, all done by academy masters whom have been in combat and professing for decades. Many of the halls where housing was common became lit up as the residents retired with the evening meal and rest. It was ten in the evening, in less than six hours; they would awaken again for their morning drills and lectures.

In heavy contrast to most colleges for humans, sangheili only attended these to become their sole purpose for centuries, being the most powerful combatants employed in the Covenant. Every student present at the academy was male and there for the purpose of being in their military.

The headmaster Sovl Talam savored a dinner of colo with irukan, along with a sliced yellow vegetable and freshly baked flatbread. Here, the calmness of the background and being away from his associates gave him much time to think, and plan.

A servant took his plate and he began observing the azure waves lapping against the cliffside with a warm cup of blackish tea.

An hour passed before he retreated back in his office, the outside winds chilling enough despite the atmosphere's hot temperature.

He powered on a device that dominated the rear of the room. A massive screen seemed to appear out of thin air as he waved his hands, controlling the movements by sensors. He began reviewing when there was a knock on his door.

"I was not to be disturbed." He snapped.

"A thousand apologies headmaster," The door popped open and the minor stuck his head inside, "Your cadets that you had requested now await your arrival."

Sovl's heart rate began to increase, "My apologies to you as well. Leave us and retire for the day."

The minor bowed, hurrying off. Sovl rose to his full height, an imposing eight feet and ten inches. This came into play many times, especially when he had to assess apprentices that did not perform up to his expectations. His frame was highly solid and the unmatched strength was used often, whether against enemies or anyone who happened to displeased him. In contrast to his heavy frame, he was often seen with an energy sword in one hand and some weapon in the other. The sword was among his best talents, being able to perform acrobatic maneuvers with dazzling agility to gain an edge over his opponents.

Sovl's childhood was filled with constant praise, with him passing tests with such flexibility and flawlessness, that if had been better; he would have been revered as more sacred than the prophets. Within joining the military, he had already been promoted on every battle he returned from. After three tours in battle, he was already an Ultra with command over one of the best trained units in Covenant history. A promotion to Zealot earned him the reputation that he was feared for.

He remained a sole operative, away from most of the front lines. Three colony worlds ravaged by his forces. He had done some of the most intensive fighting by himself however. Thanks to his immense strength and size, he was capable of overpowering an entire squad of humans within seconds.

Ten elites were outside, standing in a semicircle, all wearing the uniform of a senior graduate. Truth is told, the year was merely beginning, starting around mid-September.

"I see all of you are curious on why I have called you here." He began, stiffening up as he paced in front of the uncertain apprentices. "I have called the best of the senior class and charge only you to keep a secret duty from upon acceptation to the last second of your life."

"Every one of you has exceeded every test that your masters and I have thrown at you and you deserve nothing less. You will become the forefront of making our species' in the perfect society. Free from any outside influence. Therefore it is fitting that my associates will initiate you into the high standing society that only the best apprentices of our academy are invited to join."

Another class master stepped forward to continue as Sovl backed away, into his office once more. He sat down, flicking through his computer terminal. He scrolled through the media sites, observing the news when a particular article caught his eye.

Browsing through the page, he peered closer. The article was about mysterious clouds over another world. A world that humans called Imbel Alpha. Most of the planet was glassed sometime in the war, but settlements were starting to reseed near some sites where cities had remained.

"Curious," He murmured looking even further. Multiple traffic, mostly shipping supplies were reported lost with all hands. The article guided him to another, the disappearance of Hesduros ambassador Jonah Beech.

The writer clearly was human, using their grammar liberally, so Sovl had to run it through his head twice to make sure both of them were on the same page. The fallout from his disappearance and presumed death had negatively affected relations that humans and elites had. Not that it wasn't shaky to begin with, but since Eudemon was the only world where there was a significant amount of sangheili population, the tension was high enough. Beech had already been called in to speak about compromise. Both races did not like the other and would love nothing more than to have Eudemon for themselves. The UNSC, obviously siding with humanity, now stationed four military bases on the borders of sangheili states and the human governed areas to "keep the peace". That peacekeeping role translated into having multiple ODST squads and a fireteam of Spartan IVs with authorization to shoot anything threatening the other side of the border, human or elite. Already they had thwarted extremist groups attempting to bomb the Talam Keep three times.

Sovl was a sangheili supremist. During the Schism, he clearly voiced his opinion against humans as allies, saying to "Leave them to fend for themselves. If they survive, then they would be worthy allies, yet still inferior to us." Unfortunately for him, Arbiter Thel Vadam disagreed with his statement. Still, Sovl's hatred for the jiralhanae and their prophet puppet masters burned brighter and he thus took solo operations with some of his graduated apprentices.

The Talam lineage was always in decline. Thousands of years ago, the clan was an empire of forty million, slowly declining after its peak rate and battles with rival states that joined forces to bring down the monster. Over the years of the Covenant it declined to six. Another devastating war brought the Talam empire to its knees and left the population at five hundred thousand by the beginning of the war against humanity. By 2552, the lineage was nearly extinct. Now, the clan was on its way to rebuilding itself on Eudemon. That progress was now being hampered by humans, an enemy that the elites should have finished off while they were weakened.

Sovl took pride in his family lineage. Keeping his apprentices as pure to remain in power was his key.

He marked the article for future reference before reclining in his seat with another cup of tea. This was the first night in years that he truly enjoyed.

* * *

**Now it's off to Sacramento! Trip and Rachel will be searching for clues, but will they find anything or anyone of relevance?**

**I apologize for the slow updating even when I said that they would be faster. We've been working on a project at work for nearly four weeks where as it should have taken us only six days to complete. Overtime is frequent, so please bear with me.  
**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing everyone! You all give my writing purpose.**


	7. Investigation III

**Sacramento, United Republic of North America, Earth**

**September 14, 2558**

Sacramento was the capital city of the URNA state of California. Although not as expansive as the neighbors of San Francisco and Los Angeles, it remained as large urban area center for a unique blend of culture and business.

Trip and Rachel had taken a flight on an intercolonial aircraft company from Reach that offered flights to the four busiest spaceports on Earth; Tokyo, London, New York and Sydney. Landing in New York, they only had an hour to swap craft and browse through the duty-free shop before getting on another aircraft to the nearby Los Angeles air/space port. Passing the famed Theme Building constructed during the twentieth century, they hopped on a regional jet from the LAX area and descended into Sacramento ninety minutes later. There was no space traffic that left Sacramento, so it was limited to an airport. Much of the passengers that traveled around Earth or her colonies would connect at nearby Los Angeles or San Francisco, much larger and busier hubs.

Onboard, Trip watched as the ground became closer and the small twin engine regional jet planted itself on the concrete runway. They slowed down and began taxiing to the main terminal.

"We here already?" Rachel moaned from his left. She had slept all the way though the fifty minute flight.

"Yeah. Did that bump scare you?"

"It did."

After another twenty minutes of bag collecting, they were in the lobby where Trip flashed the pass at a car rental facility that Adamant had reserved earlier. Trip didn't have much to carry and tossed his bag in the back. They drove along the airport highway as he followed the built in GPS' guidance that Rachel programmed to Beech's house and offices.

Sacramento remained relatively unchanged for centuries. While the buildings and technology were up to date, much of the lifestyle remained constant. It was one of the slowest growing in population, but one of the fastest in technology. Many software companies were headquartered in the city and nearby San Francisco's Silicon Valley.

Also present were much of California's farm fresh ideals. The state had been producing food for much of the former United States of America. California was known for its fresh foods and organic restaurants and were a common sight in Sacramento.

It was late at night when they arrived at the front of Beech's office and the security had closed the fence that surrounded the compound. Trip and Rachel rented a room at a hotel and grabbed a quick meal at an organic restaurant down the street. Both were tired from the journey and quickly fell asleep in their beds.

* * *

**September 15, 2558**

Trip Aegis awoke with a start, his augmented senses still running at full speed. It took him a while to calm himself down and reassure that he wasn't under any threat. The clock read ten minutes past three in the morning.

Careful as to not wake up the other person, he headed over to the hotel's balcony. Nobody was outside and he had no concerns about himself being half naked. He always slept without a shirt, whether onboard _Ballista_ or not. He pondered the time it would be on Eudemon, probably late at night. He removed his comlink and dialed a number by memory. Normally he would have spoken a codeword that would've been programmed into the device as he did not enter any service number in the contacts list, in the event of it getting stolen from him. In any case, he would likely have had the thief pinned to the wall in such a way that any thoughts of stealing from a future victim were nonexistent.

After a few tones of ringing, the screen finally displayed a connecting sign. He stared into the screen, a grinning young man in his twenties.

"Hey boss man." First rate helmsman and electronics expert Danny Tyler greeted.

"Hello Danny." Trip knew the kid's smile was contagious, "How is the _Ballista_ doing?"

"We're still holding orbit over Eudemon. Pyra's efforts on the human and elite police forces have paid off. So far, nobody's tried an insurgency since our arrival."

"If our presence is enough to scare off insurgents, I'm good with that."

"Hey!" A voice shouted from the back of Tyler's end of the channel, "Ask her if she has a sister or friend her age!"

Tyler whirled around, "C'mon Ril, I'm talking to,"

"Just do it."

Danny facepalmed, giving a sigh of defeat. He then turned so the second person could hear, "Commander, do you have a sister or friend near your age?"

"Wait that's the Commander?" A second face appeared next to Tyler's. In heavy contrast to his fresh, geeky appearance, Luke Riley always had some part of him in black, clothing, accessories or otherwise. Riley or Ril, the latter called by Danny, was the ship's weapons expert and responsible for _Ballista_'s impressive arsenal, ranging from anti-aircraft point defense guns to her cutting edge magnetic accelerator cannon.

Both men were in the late half of their twenties, meeting at a conference on Reach where Riley had proposed improvements to the MAC versions outfitted on the Stalwart frigates. Although inseparable and nearly opposite ends of the spectrum, they both shared intelligence comparable to an AI as well as a friendship that Aegis knew was unlike any other. Sure, he held strong bonds with everyone in his crew and everyone did the same. However the bond between Tyler and Riley was special. Aegis speculated that they had a secret power to read each other's minds.

"Hello Riley." Trip couldn't help but smile wickedly, much to his embarrassment. "Sorry, I don't have a sister and friend wise, you can go see my associate Leah Roush or Sofia Inselton, the latter a medic so that she can fix your hearing. Would you like either of their numbers?"

"Uh that won't be necessary." Luke quickly quirked, "I have some tweaking on my games to do. Commander, I'll call you later!"

"Wow." Tyler looked back to make sure that he had left. "He's going to remember that for days."

"Perhaps scarred for life." This got a chuckle from both men. Trip then turned serious, "We're in Sacramento, searching the office for clues tomorrow morning and later I'm teaching the government spook to break into a house."

"Fun."

"Sure is. Now relating to the cause of Beech's disappearance around Imbel Alpha, I want the Ballista when she can over the colony to observe and possibly collect samples of this grey shit. Once you've obtained it, analyze it because the sooner I know what it is, the closer I can get to how Beech's shuttle disappeared and maybe his whereabouts."

"You don't think that Beech was targeted?"

Danny may have been onto something. Human/sangheili tensions were rapidly rising ever since news of the civil war on sanghelios had been made public two years after it started. Even the Arbiter's side which was allied with the UNSC had difficulty getting along with them. Highly criticized for his peacemaking ideals and atheism to the long revered gods of the Forerunners, a large group of elites decided to oust him from power. They had yet to succeed, but still maintained quite a threat to both him and humanity.

Many media outlets were already jumping to conclusions. The other day, Aegis' mind was blown by some of the reporters' stupidity. Still, they topped the daily news site headlines, "War around the corner! Can we continue to coexist with the elites or will we be forever locked in armed conflict?"

"Those reporting bastards. How they got their job still eludes me."

"I'm sorry?" He forgot Tyler was still on the other line.

"Sorry. I must have been talking to myself. Anyway, grab the samples and get back to finish our peacekeeping training. You might be right on seeing how his shuttle was targeted. Even after a freighter reported the colony seeing the silvery material expanding, I read in an honest article that it had broadcasted a warning to stay away from the colony. Obviously, the freighters and the ambassador's shuttle didn't listen. Start digging into the commercial traffic and see if you can pull anything from Beech's transport as well."

"Commander, the ONI spooks won't let us in without a legitimate reason."

"Huh, you're right. Okay, I'll get Adamant to try and pull us a couple of strings. Even if we can't figure out who's targeted him if any, we can at least find out why the shuttle vanished off the scopes."

"You got it boss man. Have fun on your date."

Before Aegis could reply, Tyler cut the connection. He sighed in defeat, observing the highway and its flowing rivers of yellow and white lights from traffic below.

"How did he know?" Tyler and Luke Riley may be computer geniuses as well as knowing technical jargon that anyone else wouldn't know half of. Tyler was a first rate helmsman, with a handling of the _Ballista_ rivaling Aegis' own as well as his second in command's Drew Rayson. But come the opposite sex, he was literally hopeless. Three days after the affair concerning slaves on the independent colony of Flint, the Blades enjoyed leisure time in a New Alexandria bar along with a guest that Trip brought. Danny had gotten so flustered with a woman's impulsive approach that he rushed outside, faking an illness.

"Who were you speaking to?"

Rachel had awakened as well, opening the observation window quietly enough to barely evade his advanced hearing.

"My associates in our headquarters."

"Where is your workplace? You don't look like someone who sits behind a desk all day."

"Maybe when things go south, you can see." Now it was Aegis' turn to ask something. "You look lonely all the time. What is it? Someone special in your life?"

She shook her head, "I'm happily unattached at the moment."

Trip decided to brush off the conversation. "Well I'm still sleepy. I'd better get to bed."

"Yeah." Her face drew a blank when Trip turned around. She didn't know whether to be fascinated or ashamed to see his well-toned torso. If he was self-conscious of his state, he didn't show it.

The morning rose, they ate a quick breakfast before driving over to the grounds of the Beech office. Security, according to Rachel was much looser before his disappearance. There wasn't anything to hassle about. Now however, there was a full contingent of police cars that funneled traffic to entrances where they could scan those who would enter. Beech shared the building with an office of a leasing company. The Spartan IV didn't have any weapons on him, so he had nothing to fear. They were waved in. Before entering, he had noticed a black van of Special Weapons and Tactics or SWAT team operatives ready to storm the building if necessary.

Before even knowing what the office would yield, he knew that searching here would have been a waste of time. So he merely obliged, watching as Rachel scrolled through his computer and files. Aside from the janitor who told him how to lock the door when they left, there was nobody else.

Trip's comlink buzzed and he answered, "Aegis."

"Commander, we've just arrived at Imbel Alpha. From what the reports are saying, it's completely covered in this grey stuff." It was his second in command and best friend Drew Rayson. Rayson was a former UNSC Army Engineer before starting the Blades with Trip. Without his number two, Aegis had little doubt that he would have gone out of business years ago.

"Have you secured samples for analysis?"

"We're trying, but it's scattered and if the grey is related to his disappearance, I don't want us to share the same fate."

"Keep me updated." He closed the channel before regarding Morand. "Any luck?"

"None. There wasn't even any notes about his return from Hesduros."

Trip sighed, "Do you know what shuttle he was using?"

"No." She looked back at him quizzically "Why?"

"Because I know where we can find that,"

An hour later, they continued up the northeastern side of Sacramento. The further out they drove, the more suburban the landscape was becoming. Tall buildings were now being replaced by fields of fresh crops and single story houses. While still in close proximity to a large metropolitan area, it was remarkably quiet. The people were easygoing and much more laid back than the frantic rush of too many cities that Aegis had been to. Sometimes the food was better too, after having a classic of American culture hamburger, California style.

Beech's house was massive, with a ranch style single story home blanketed by a huge lawn adorned with a rainbow of flowers. No security was present here, rather inside as defense systems.

Trip knelt at the door of the house, taking out a conventional lockpick. It took him a little while to figure it out, but he gave the small object a jerk upwards and the door's locking mechanism snicked open. Normal locks, although considered somewhat primitive, could be much more reliable due to their rarity, as electronic locks were much more common and thus thieves had ways of overriding that and not a more traditional one. Technically, they were not supposed to enter the house.

Upon opening the door, the house still held its clean appearance, despite Beech having been left it for more than a month. There wasn't even a layer of dust on the model of a UNSC cruiser that stood in the wide atrium of the house.

Locating his private office, Trip sat down, operating the computer while Rachel searched through the file cabinets. With his faint idea, Trip accessed the government webpage. Beech must have been an auto-entry kind of individual, as the facial scan and passwords were already entered. He was wondering if the computer actually wanted him to access the files.

Searching through his messages, he first came to the transport department area and filtered that out. Only one message had fallen on a few days before his disappearance. He clicked it, instantly getting the confirmation of the shuttle's flight to pick him up.

"Got it!"

Away from his field of view, a shimmering distortion shifted to the office area.

* * *

**Well they found somewhat of a lead to the ambassador's disappearance! Something's brewing out there and it ain't good!**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing everyone. You give my writing purpose.**


	8. Friends and Foes I

**Spartan IV Colonial Operations Headquarters**

**Quezon, Reach**

**September 13, 2558**

Spartan Terry Dhao sipped her coffee as she began reading new messages from her techs to start the day. Being the head Spartan IV was challenging for the MJOLNIR armor that the Spartan IVs of the colonial operations, she often held a large responsibility, sneering that the suits were repaired, maintained and ordering new parts if necessary.

"Confirm order for new Operator and Commando helmets and chestplates." She had opened a receipt message from Nephtali Corporation, the manufacturer of both the Commando and Operator platforms as well as EOD and Orbital sets.

"Confirmed." She spoke in response.

"Thank you for your purchase, the delivery will commence in seven days."

Dhao closed the message out on her computer. She was due to run a test of a team slayer match on the new War Games simulator that was installed in the building's basement. Even with her coffee's added strength, she still felt the need of sleep yanking at her eyelids.

Dhao, like many of her fellow Spartans was a career soldier, signing up for the Spartan IV program. She had already served the one tour on Requiem when the _Infinity_ had first discovered its existence. Then later, she wound up working for the colonial operations HQ in Quezon, responsible for the inventory of new MJOLNIR suits issued to new recruits, who were now flooding in due to the unit's popularity.

She smiled at the thought of selection processes for the volunteers. Before long, nearly every seasoned soldier who dreamed of being a Spartan had their dream come true. Now with a surplus of recruits, there was now methods of being developed to thin out the best possible for the open slots.

Her thoughts were interrupted when her computer started flashing alarms. Snapping out, she pulled up the screen, pulling aside the security threat removal beacons.

"The hell is going on?" She asked to nobody in particular.

The same message kept popping on her screen. The system's security for the MJOLNIR suit storage had failed. Anybody could waltz right in and remove the suits.

She booted up the security system, running diagnostics and trying to detect the problem. Every time, she attempted to access the reliable troubleshooter, it blocked her attempt at any further action.

It wasn't right. Covalus Software Security was awarded as the best and many times, the UNSC referred to it as the industry's leader. Outside from her view on the observation deck of the MJOLNIR armor GEN2 assembly area, the massive lockers containing priceless components of armor instantly hissed as the Covalus protection shut down, initiating an instant unlock, lest they permanently do so in case of attack by hostiles. Also at risk were vials necessary for the Spartan IV augmentation procedures.

Dhao felt the cold steel of a barrel pressed into her spine. She tensed to move on her unknown assailant, but the gunman sensed her motives and pushed the pistol's muzzle even harder. She winced slightly at the pain inflicted.

"Where are the augmentation drugs located?" Before she could even respond, be it a direction or a defiant cry, he smashed the back of the pistol into her head. Despite her Spartan enhancements, she crumpled in a heap at the bottom of the desk, unmoving.

"I know where they are anyway." The attacker cuckled darkly, before kneeling down, placing two fingers around the artery located along the Spartan's neck. He was adorned with a brown hoodie and blue jeans. A black shirt that had been rolled up covered his face; his eyes were further blocked by a pair of silver polarized sunglasses. Satisfied that he had not killed her, he stood, sitting in the chair and getting to work. It didn't take long for him to locate the pathways to both the MJOLNIR armor bays and storage for the augmentation drugs.

Striding down the stairs to the bay, he was completely unchallenged thanks to the absence of the Spartan personnel on leave. Nobody wanted to stay in the barracks when minimal activity was happening and his decision to strike was when the defenses were the lowest. Even at that point, he would have never been able to get in without the software security breach and the element of surprise on the lone Spartan he had ambushed at the desk.

The MJOLNIR suit holder was in a coffin like container that lay to the side of the circular armor bay and its octopus of arms. He wheeled a paint chipped cart found in the janitorial area and placed the box on top. The metal groaned from the armor's added weight, but it held steady.

Investigators would arrive in another two minutes, so his time was limited. The man talked back to the unconscious Dhao and reached into her pockets, pulling out a metal stick with a striped print at the bottom, blue light at the top and about the length and width of a ballpoint pen. Walking back to a door that resembled a bank vault, he placed the printed end of the stick at the small device beside. It clicked and the door opened, pushing aside the multiple inches thick of armor.

He found the box relatively easily, a metal cube that had a series of locks on the opening. A hole was present where he would fit the access pin. Inserting it, the box clicked as the safeties were disabled. Steam hissed out as the pressure equalized when he had opened the door.

The four vials that were inside had completely clear liquid and had adapters for being inserted into mechanical syringes. He put the four vials into a single sling backpack he had carried with him when he had entered. Pushing the cart, he exited the facility. Had the security software been functioning properly, he would have been spotted and most likely apprehended before he could even take two steps from the Spartan headquarters.

His car, a dark green sedan vehicle was crawling at the speed limit to the exit of the headquarters. The masked clothing and jacket were shed by the time he was rolling down the road. As he flashed his executive pass to the guard, a warthog entered through the other lane, speeding off to the site of the break in, carrying three fully armed and armored Spartan IVs.

Peeling through the highway, the car had melted flawlessly into the evening rush hour. In contrast to the hurry of the other cars around them, the attacker waved the driver off to an overpass and they took a less crowded, albeit longer route back to the hotel, a tall gray and blue structure that stood among the skyscrapers.

He graciously tipped his driver, who helped him with the luggage along with a bellhop clad in a navy blue uniform lined with silver buttons. After the car vanished into the street traffic, he wheeled the trolley with the box onto an elevator. Weight was no longer a factor as the new cars were starting to incorporate Covenant technology. The mechanical design was giving way to twin grav lifts that would power the car to its destined floor. The idea was highly expensive, as Covenant tech was difficult to obtain or create.

Destination room wasn't hard to find as he knocked on the door and dismissing the bellhop. The uniformed boy had left, pocketing a twenty as he returned to his post.

Ash Covalus opened the door, stepping aside as the freelancer wheeled the stolen tech inside. The billionaire made sure that he was clear before shutting and locking the suite's door. Walls surrounding them were soundproof, especially for the private ones. This wasn't the best hotel, but it certainly wasn't cheap to stay for a night.

"You're lucky I got away in time." He said, settling into one of the leather sofas with a beer bottle in hand, "For a second I was sure I was caught."

"I don't ever doubt my own abilities and software." Covalus was now at the bar, pouring himself a shot and downing it.

"How did you do it?"

"The override?" He looked up, sweeping his hand across the smooth surface of the box. His hand dipped down as the seams of where the door was located. "I controlled a worm that temporarily scrambled the system, shut down the cameras and cyber security. It wasn't easy doing that, as some of them are quite complex, even for me. Nobody knows the software better than the creator."

The bounty hunter grunted, "I suppose you can say that. Now I would like my payment."

"You're not getting anything until I inspect what you have retrieved for me." Covalus' tone was dead serious. To the merc, he was just there to collect his payment whenever. In all honesty, he had no care whatsoever about what he had wanted with the armor. In turn, Covalus found himself wondering why he had asked in the first place. There was no turning back when the thought crossed his mind. The deal was sealed an hour ago. Not anybody could walk into a military installation with Spartans inside and steal a set of MJOLNIR armor. However, his price was quite handsome, over thirty thousand credits. Even if ordinary hires took the job, only the man standing opposite him was told that he had the capability to complete it. What Covalus was pleased about was that after telling about his heading of the software security and his ability to temporarily shut it down, the job got easier. The mercenary didn't even ask to change the price of payment.

"Like I said before, I have no damn care about what you're going to do with a suit that only a Spartan can wear." He inserted the pin in the slot and the box's door hissed, spewing steam as the internal pressure and external equalized.

The armor was a grey rounded GEN2 Operator variant, coming with leg and arm coverings as well that were stored at the bottom. In a sense, the entire suit could be stored inside the box, minus the robotic arms and method to don all the equipment. From the digital log on the side, it had only been through War Games tests twice and it was satisfied expectations and awaited a permanent Spartan to be assigned with.

Covalus looked in satisfaction as the merc shut the lid on the box once more. He unslung his backpack and presented the four vials, all wrapped in a white cloth. "Now that I have showed you all, I expect payment."

"Of course." Covalus held out a datapad that had left his pocket. Syncing it with the merc's they both flashed green, conducting a quick virtual way to exchange money. Satisfied, he nodded and started for the exit.

"I hope you don't use that suit to come after me. I may just have to use this money to buy myself that eight gauge shotgun." The merc gave his final word before shutting the door. The instant he was out of the soundproof fields, Covalus was already dialing a number back at Eudemon, a hotline for his personal doctor.

"Get the surgery tables online. You're creating a new Spartan." It wouldn't be long now before a certain sangheili realized what he had done. Now, it was payback time.

* * *

**Uh oh, I don't think human/sangheili relations on Eudemon are going to get any better after this caper gets pulled off.**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing everyone! You give my writing purpose.**


	9. Friends and Foes II

**Thansan War College Secondary Facility, Headmaster's office**

**State of Talam, Eudemon**

**September 13, 2558**

"So you're saying that these accuracy tests are incorrect?!" Sovl Talam demanded at the shaking student. Too nervous to respond, he could only stifle a cry of protest.

"You are then unfit to attend this academy. I will no longer allow your tainted skills to spread amongst us!" He reached inside his desk, producing an energy sword, the same sword he had slain so many humans with. On the hilt was the crest of the once prestigious Talam lineage.

"Ah," A voice came from the doorway, halting the terror of the apprentice and Sovl's rage immediately diminished, as it could've been one of the kaidon's officials. Any displeasure with them could have the academy shut down and sent back to the war-torn Sanghelios.

"I hope I am not intruding." The tall muscle frame of Vaal Talam filled the room. While not as tall as the college headmaster, Vaal still looked up to him

"Vaal." He gasped, "A surprise visit by one of my star pupils?"

The former nodded at the apprentice, who seemed to shrink from his position, "Dismiss him. I wish to speak to you alone if I can."

"Of course." Sovl looked him in the eye, "You've gotten lucky this time. Remove yourself from my sight before I change my mind." Without another word or moment to hesitate, the young sangheili scurried off.

"I still remember your same policies of insubordination." Vaal smiled, "Those were the good days."

"Things have changed." Headmaster replied, "So Vaal, I don't think you've come here to discuss without a specific purpose in mind." He stood, using his height to show his swagger, "Care for tea?" He moved to the pot when Vaal nodded, still in earshot.

"That's correct. I was hoping that you could do something to help strengthen our relations with the human neighbors."

"Ah! I had forgotten that you were part of the peacekeeping task force. How is that going?"

Vaal accepted the glass cup from Sovl, "Our efforts are close to paying off, but we are currently taking on multiple new tasks."

"Surely you have shown that sangheili are superior?"

"Humans are more powerful than you think. Not just in their physical realm, but their prowess in creating ships and allies are impressive."

"Alarming, if anything," Sovl waved his hand in dismissal, "My academy ensures to produce the finest warriors possible. Keeping human influence outside and away is to ensure their purity. Adding for our rebuilding heritage as well."

"Ensure purity, or for your own benefits?" Vaal maintained a good relationship with his mentor, in turn, Sovl was immensely proud of Vaal. The Blades member had graduated with top honors and on his record, the attendance of the academy earned him his placement of the sangheili Commandos following only one tour.

"In order to keep Talam as well as the other states here in a positive growth, we must evict humanity from this world."

"I have to disagree," Vaal replied, "There is much we, as a species can learn from humans. Same thing vice versa. I have read that during some of their bloodiest conflicts, some of them held burning contempt for one another, be it traditions, nationalism or whatever. Although their progress was slow, different races of humans learned to coexist with each other."

"Human culture is ravaged by war." Sovl drained his tea with the current words of disgust. "They are belligerent unless they know they cannot win."

"Aren't we the same way?"

"Yes, but we are far superior masters of war."

"That's where your shortsightedness comes in." Vaal persisted, "See when you fought humans, you used not only your brute force, but sheer tactics of intimidation. A human would almost rather kill themselves than face a monster sized elite like yourself, whom will have no chance of succeeding."

"That's why they are cowardly. Either way, in conflict or not, they are still dangerous to live around."

"It is only that way because of security concerns. Don't bother them and they won't bother you."

Sovl grunted, folding his arms. Vaal held out his empty glass, which the headmaster refilled both of their containers with a fresh pot.

"I take it that you've instructed your ten to uphold the purity of the academy?"

"It's for the best." Vaal knew he was telling the truth, similar to an old human military academy novel, a secret organization was made to ensure that all who attended upheld the oath. Anyone who broke it was brutally beaten, tortured in ways defiant to race's rights. The secret organization would also attack anyone who wasn't among the others. Threatening and frightening messages were a common sight, with torture following if they were ignored.

The academy in the Talam lineage was among those to have conspired with a galactic scale, with rumors around the Covenant military about a new order organized by the elites. Of course, to maintain their high status, the Hierarchs dismissed any suspicions, indicating that any perpetrators would be immediately executed.

Every headmaster of the Talam academy has been accused of conspiring for an undercover revolution. For the Blades' sangheili's opinion, he trusted Sovl a great deal.

"I know what you're thinking." The headmaster seemed to penetrate his thoughts, "Any suspicions have been dismissed. You know that I fully support kaidon Akuo with everything I can. In fact, I was the one who led the elder's decision to elect him."

"I'm going to get to the bottom of this." Vaal sighed, "I wish you could have offered some help."

"Going back to your human compatriots?" It was almost as if he was taunting him to go back, "Even their treachery having controlled my star apprentice?"

A slight ember of anger built down inside him, Vaal had fought alongside Trip and his team countless times. Of course, there was some uneasiness between the two species, but the Blades were close enough and tight knit to almost be called one big family.

"Apprentice!" Sovl stood on his feet again. A different sangheili that was in his office before now stood in the doorway. "Show him to the entrance where he had come from."

The other elite nodded, leading Vaal out of the office. Before he could shut the door, Sovl stopped him.

"Just one more thing. How much can you really trust your human allies? With whom is you allegiance aligned to? How far are you willing to see our great state of Talam rebuilt?"

He still didn't have the answer when he left the academy, the place that trained his life's purpose.

* * *

**Short chapter. Glad to see Sovl is on the kaidon's and Blades side. I wanted to get it out as an early release. As today happens to be my birthday. I feel old.**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing everyone! You give my writing purpose!**


	10. Friends and Foes III

**State of Talam Border, Eudemon**

**September 14, 2558**

Far on the human side of the borders of the UEG and Talam state, a quartet of dark clothed men rapidly moved to the border zone. All carrying equipment that probably came out of an anarchist website, save for the civilian grade Misriah pistols, they halted at the border, likely to check their gear before performing their acts of sabotage.

The border zone was something straight out of a prison. A massive thirty foot deep trench was centered right before the official line between human and elite territory spanning four hundred feet. The low area was all in the line of fire from both sides' turrets that were placed along the vantage points. No landmines were inside, but the trench was watched extremely carefully. On the human side, there were seismographs to monitor the ground movement. Any noticeable disturbance would automatically cause one of the machine gun sentries to pivot over to the location. Until the target was identified as harmful to either side, the turret would hold its fire.

In designated spots, there were two large concrete bridges that spanned across the two sides for anyone wanting to cross the border, if at all. Since the desert heat made the view very blurry from heat waves shimmering, sunroofs were put on the buildings alongside the bridges. Most marines standing out in the open wouldn't last thirty seconds before his/her shirt already soaked in sweat. Heat was something that was quite intense, especially in the August/September range.

From his perch atop one of the sangheili sniper towers, Spartan Vasili Suvorov had to hand it to the extremist insurgents. Completely covered in dark clothing, they seemed to not even be slightly affected by the heat. Then again, the sun was now beginning to sink on the horizon, casting a dull reddish glow in the sky.

The four marauders now were making their way just below where the bridge spanned across. Especially in September, no human outside would be standing guard, rather operating in the air conditioned center underground. In lieu of the missing personnel, sentry guns hidden in the nearby pillars would be slightly drawn, almost to the point where they would be nearly invisible. To cover targets trying to hide below, hornets and banshees patrolled their respective sides.

Thanks to their absence, the hostiles slipped in unnoticed; it was too far for sangheili to see without the aid of a long range weapon such as a carbine. In addition, they were traveling along a narrow zone of there the cameras and sensors failed to detect anything, save for a visual clue. They would likely have turned tail and run if they knew that a Spartan was observing them through his own weapon.

"Everyone in position?" He whispered over the coms.

"Affirmitave." Sniper specialist Kelly Robertson whispered. Her aim rivaled the commander's and her prior military experience was highly decorated. All in a person not to cross. Linking her HUD with Vasili's and the three elite police, she marked the four targets. All of them were advancing at a slow, but quiet pace, staying under the bridge and halting when a banshee passed over head.

"Just keep flying the banshees over." Suvorov informed the pilots. "Don't raise any suspicion."

Next to Spartan Robertson, a single elite awaited her go. In their first lesson to discourage trespassers, the Blades had finally managed to teach sangheili to fire warning shots. Growing up in a culture where a shot meant to kill, it was nonetheless difficult. The elites were hesitant to try the practice, basically acting as policeman was a whole new drill for them. It was difficult when trying to change a culture that has been a strong tradition for centuries. However, some units of the Talam forces seemed to learn quicker, most notably the ones who were shy of serving in the war.

The past few times, it had just been lone saboteurs. The next few moments unfolded as the elite peacekeepers made their decision to react to a smuggler or a hostile. Most likely the latter. Robertson's eye stared through her scope, the crosshairs dead center on the lead trespasser's head. Underneath his coat, an odd tube shape was bulging from his fabric. Twisting a dial on her scope, she zoomed in a little closer, all while working another variable to maintain focus. Recognizing what the object was, she zoomed out, still making sure the four hostiles were marked.

"Vasili, they've got portable mortars. I think they're not actually trying to attack the keep."

"Fire a warning shot."

Kelly nodded at the elite next to her. He aimed the long focus rifle, pulling the trigger. Instantly, the barrel of the T-52 SAR, opened, lancing out a purple tinted beam. The marksman made careful not to hit any of the attackers and instead painted the side with the long beam. The weapon is quite rare, following the limited production by the manufacturer Assembly forges. Unlike most traditional sniper rifles, the T-52 fired a steady beam that would slowly deplete shields, armor and flesh. To unarmored enemies, this weapon was far more lethal. Unfortunately, much of the skill in the usage was dependent on the sniper being able to track their target efficiently. The second unpopular trait of the weapon was that the beam was easily visible, especially during dusk and it gave away the shooter's position.

The saboteurs must have seen it from their quick assembly of the small mortar tubes and producing shells from their backpacks. One of them slid the long shell into the tube and recoiled when smoke suddenly exploded out of the end. The shell blazed a brilliant orange, heading right for Robertson's post.

Without any second thoughts, she and the elite sniper leapt off the perch. A split second later, the fragmentation shell detonated right on top of the hovering perch, exploding in a brilliant white flame.

Radio chatter blasted through as multiple people, Vasili, Leah Roush and several elites starting talking through the same channel, falling back on protocols that the Blades had established not two days ago.

"Take the shot! They're hostiles!" The elite commander snarled.

Kelly lined the first one up in an instant, squeezing the trigger. The sniper barked as it kicked back. However, her aim, like always was dead on. The round slammed into the head of the first victim, who felt nothing the moment he instantly died.

"Capture teams! Go!" Vasili queued the next police unit, one specialized for capture of insurgents.

The elites moved in, using their stun plasma rifles to fire upon the intruders. Now developed on the plasma rifle platform, the stun ability allowed their targets to be…well stunned. The power was drastically reduced so that it would not produce serious injury. However, if the target was wearing body armor, the bolts would be completely useless.

New harnesses were also designed for the elites designated as the peacekeeper harness. Similar in aesthetic appearances to the popular ranger harness, the peacekeeper sported a domed visor that ran over the top and covered in a silvery polarized material. The bottom half had rougher characteristics of a mask that filtered out anything harmful to them. The chestplate was sleek, having a couple of lights to indicate the power status. Two smooth angled shoulder pads and knee guards completed the armor set, made for the best possible fit and protection. Unlike traditional combat harnesses, the peacekeeper harness wasn't elaborate. Just like the sangheili who wore it, they were solely to get their never ending job finished and done the first time right.

A second human saw the approaching elites, pulling out a sidearm. Before Kelly could use her excellent accuracy to fire the pistol out of his hands, he turned the muzzle on himself, pulling the trigger and went down with his head becoming a bloody spray.

Just like how the Blades trained them, the three peacekeepers lowered their bodies, charging in their takedown maneuver. The two remaining humans didn't even resist as the larger reptilian creatures flipped them on their backs and bound their hands with a glowing metal pair of cuffs. Once they were secured, Kelly nodded to them and they hauled the attackers on their feet, marching them to the detention facility, a closely guarded prison that was now built to house enemies of the state.

The warden of the prison had his guards escort the two humans to their cells when the peacekeepers gathered on their side of the bridge.

"Excellent work everyone." Vasili started, "You've gotten the hang of what it's like to be protecting your side of the state as well as the human's. While this was a rather easier type of action, you must stay vigilant because not all hostiles will be this detectable." As soon as he finished, his comlink buzzed, the caller read "Leah Roush"

Kelly stepped forward, allowing Vasili to move aside and take the call "Of course, there are still a couple other things that we will teach you."

"Spartan Suvorov." Since it was a visual transmission, he kept his helmet in the viewing screen.

"Hey Vasili." Leah Roush, the _Ballista_'s third officer spoke from the other line. She had a high pitched voice that sounded as if she was squealing all the time, which was frequent, especially when in an action thrill. However, her small frame and girlish attributes were nothing compared to her ability to stay calm and gather intelligence or whatever vital to the mission. "I heard the weather's record high today at Talam."

"Don't ask me that. I'm very comfortable in my air conditioned suit thank you. Ask any of the peacekeepers, which haven't even broken a sweat yet."

"Sure thing. Anyway, Drew's now moving _Ballista_ back into Eudemon's orbit. We managed to orbit Imbel Alpha, almost to the grid where Ambassador Beech's shuttle had disappeared. Samples were collected and you're not going to believe what we just found."

She was definitely a little nervous, but with her high pitch voice, it was difficult to tell. "I'm sending you a short feed of the grey matter under Doc Sofia's microscope."

Leah's face disappeared and replaced with the lit atmosphere of the camera recording under one of Spartan Inselton's thousand credit microscope. The corners were all lined with the metallic dust and it moved, but invisible to his eyes.

Sofia zoomed in to a small patch near the center of the clear slide. Shapes began to take form and to Vasili's interest, he now saw movement inside. It was rather slow, accelerating when the zooming feature was activated again.'

The silvery particles were all alive. Glowing with lined lights, Sofia centered the scope on one of the specimens. The front of it was rounded, having its back means of movement longer than the entire body. Three legs curled upwards and it straightened them out, propelling it forward almost like how a squid would travel. Because they were so small, the glowing twin lines of light were indistinguishable, even though the light blue color stood out.

"Leah, what the hell are those things?"

"Like I said, you won't believe what Sofia thinks. They're microbots, using nanotechnology."

"I think I've heard about that." Nanotechnology was manipulation of matter on a molecular or atomic scale. The concept was highly looked into during the twenty-first century as new ways to combat epidemics of that time, such as cancer. The small bots would devour the cancerous cells in a matter of minutes, cleaning the person of any more chances. However, sometimes, the practice was unstable and the design was regulated into military use only once a disastrous attempt was made on them trying to reproduce themselves. Since they weren't living, they reproduced asexually, using the materials they devoured to create energy for a new unit. The disastrous attempt was done on the planet of Chi Ceti IV, with the nanobots nearly multiplying out of control, only to be stopped by a deployed HAVOK warhead. The blast destroyed every single harmful microbot and thus the Unified Earth Government then banned the use of nanotechnology to their military only.

"Well these microbots aren't of any human design and they certainly seem to have every trait of living organisms, but are artificial. The numbers are staggering, more than a hundred of these things can fit through a needle eye."

"Could they be a secret ONI design? Maybe they're testing it again."

"I doubt that. Why would the Office want to eliminate someone vital to the relations of the UNSC and the elites?"

It was a good question. Vasili hoped that the Commander might have a better answer.

* * *

**Will Aegis have a better answer? Maybe. Thanks for reading and reviewing everyone. You give my writing purpose.**


	11. Friends and Foes IV

**Sacramento, United Republic of North America, Earth**

**September 14, 2558**

It was now up to Danny or Luke to backtrack where DS-2687 shuttle had been prior to its disappearance three days ago. He quickly downloaded the confirmation message from Beech's computer to the _Ballista_ before searching the rest of the database for any clues. So far, no media outlet has picked up anything else than what he and Rachel had uncovered. There was a small part in one article that they were attempting to find Morand for an interview, but no such luck.

He would have to get clearance for the records from the transport and then send that to Riley to tear apart.

"Nothing?" Rachel Morand came from around the corner of the room. She had went to the restroom earlier.

"Actually I found something. The confirmation message for the shuttle's usage. I'm sending a copy to my team for investigation."

Trip looked over at Rachel, but his gaze focused on something past her. It was a slight shimmer and as quickly as it appeared, it was gone.

Already knowing that it was, he lunged out, grabbing whatever part of Rachel he could and snatching her back to the desk. Moments later, a hail of plasma fire erupted from the entrance.

"Get down!" He shouted to the already crouching Rachel. She buried her face in her hands, flinching when dust and other objects impacted her body. Aegis cursed his forgoing of a weapon. The one time he didn't have one was the one time he needed it the most.

"Elites." The sounds the two sangheili warriors in active camo made, gave away their identification. With all tense of stealth gone, they then laid down suppressive fire once more over the desk. They must have known he was unarmed, as they closed the gap, quickly backing away from the desk to feign him to blow his cover. They weren't ordinary warriors; they were smart, always having their partner cover their back. How they had entered wasn't his concern, they may have staked out the office, knowing that a vital clue to the ambassador's disappearance was located there.

"Ohh, that's handy." Rachel looked up to see the Spartan probing through Beech's drawer. Inside he found a small flask as well as a pack of cigars with a lighter. Opening the engraved container, he smelled the rum inside, which already gave him assurance of what he needed.

"What are you doing?" Rachel asked, all while looking in the mirror at their attackers. They had now turned off their camo generators, still laying down fire if they heard or saw anything. They appeared different than any other elites that she had seen before. Instead of the combat harness, they were instead in a sleek black suit covering their entire bodies save for hands, feet and face. Only the joints bulged with armor underneath and the bodies shimmered as the energy shields dissipated the heat. The face was blocked by a series of moving blue screens as a sort of mini heads up display. On the chest of the closer elite, when he drew his glowing sword, fear suddenly flooded her veins. Maybe it was just a psychological thing, she'd never been in combat before, but it was always frightening to see a glowing sword, slicing just about anything in half. Her attention was diverted to the elite's chest. It was completely ripped with muscles visible and the symbol of an odd triangular shape and a sword facing downward still piqued her interest.

Looking back over, Trip now held the open lid of the flask to the pewter plated lighter. It took one flick of his hand to spark the flint and produce a steady small flame. The fumes caught the flame and inside the rest of the alcohol burned. Trip gritted his teeth as the pain in his hand grew from the heat. In an instant, he popped from his hiding place. This time, the elite took the bait, firing his plasma rifle at the person who'd left their cover. Aegis ducked from the plasma rifle and with an underhand of his left arm, tossed the makeshift Molotov. Instinctively, the elite reached out to grab the flying object, the big mistake.

At a temperature well above burning, the flaming container shattered on impact with his hand. In response, the elite roared as the fire caught onto him. The shields rapidly drained as they fought a losing battle.

While he was stunned, in a roar of pain, Trip vaulted over the desk, swatting aside the second elite and converging on the flaming one. Spinning like a dervish, his foot slammed into the jaws. The elite's teeth flew everywhere as he fell back, now unable to scream as the fire finished off any life that remained.

The second elite had already charged. Since the Molotov was already used, Trip found the fallen plasma rifle. He flinched when the hot metal touched his hand, dropping it. The elite swung his sword, a blur of white. Trip ducked, just what the opponent had been expecting. He was met with a fist and flew backwards. He slumped against the wall, muscles aching, exhaling just in time to avoid being winded. The assassin closed the gap, thrusting the sword forward in a stabbing motion. Ducking, he saw the sword gouge into the wall of the house. Just like how the elite had done to him earlier, his free hand was already coming in for a blow. If it hit, he would be stunned long enough for the sword to go right through him and then he would finish Rachel with even less effort.

Trip parried the fist, slamming it into the wall as well. Cracks spider webbed as the sheer force broke the side. Wasting no time, he head-butted the elite's HUD, causing the screen to shatter and a mix of red and purple blood dripping down. Trip didn't even realize that he was bleeding until a few seconds later.

The elite snarled, pulling his sword out of the wall and holding it at arm's length.

"Didn't someone tell you not to play with fire?" Trip used the quip to briefly stall the elite before rushing forward to tackling in a football move. They collapsed to the dying flames of his partner. Trip was quicker, seizing his elite by the mandibles and pinning the head to the fire. He snarled, thrashing around in vain to dislodge the Commander. He stayed on top, like at a bull rodeo. The windpipe of the elite was now exposed, as he fought to free himself. Trip pried one hand off and clamped down, squeezing with vigorous force. Slowly, the elite's movements became weakened and it made gagging sounds as Aegis deprived it of any more air. Breathing heavily from the exertion, Trip let the corpse go, the limbs flattening out.

"Rachel!" He called out to the office. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." She rose from her hiding spot. Other than some dust that caked her clothes, she was otherwise unharmed. Trip now managed to get a full look at her, not denying the fact that she was quite an attractive woman. Unbeknownst to him, she was just as smitten, having been awed at his figure a couple of nights ago.

"Get some footage of the bodies." He handed her a teal plated handheld camera he had bought from the New York spaceport. By the time she turned on the device, he was at the far end of the room, strapping the plasma rifle to his hip and talking on his comlink.

She finished, taking multiple images of the detailed corpse that was not burned to a crisp.

Trip was meanwhile speaking to Adamant about the incident. The latter seemed a little concerned, but he was about to announce a breakthrough that might help with whatever scheme someone was planning. In order to find out what, he had to head back to Reach.

"Nope, but I may have some respite to what's going on."

"Good." Aegis looked back to Morand, who was patiently waiting, "Someone doesn't want us finding out how Ambassador Beech had vanished. I think he might still be alive. If he were dead, then searching for the remains wouldn't be such an important thing."

"That's true. How's Morand faring?"

"She's fine."

"You know…that girl is attracted to you."

Aegis grinned, out or her earshot, "Can I help it if she's got a good taste in men?"

"Whatever. I have no interest at what you two are up to in your personal matters. Just make sure the stability on Eudemon gets improved and find out what happened to the shuttle."

"We're making progress."

"Good to hear. See you at Reach in a couple." The line clicked dead.

* * *

**Wonder what they'll find about Adamant's breakthrough. In other things, if you really like this story, I would also recommend Helljumper by M. Cartwright.**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing everyone, you give my writing purpose.**


	12. Vahkai I

**Unknown location**

**September 15, 2558**

Ash Covalus sat up, now aware of the red hot pains all over his back and arms. Looking down, he saw his hands covered in pink scars. To the back of the medical table were several robotic arms, all with hypodermic needles and emptied cavities, having dumped the augmentation drugs into his body.

His large body was now even bigger, now standing nearly seven feet tall and his mass nearly doubled. When he voiced his orders to perform surgery on himself, the doctors were hesitant. The tragedies of the Spartan II augmentations haunted medical advancements and frequently looked down upon the upgrades via performance drugs that lasted a lifetime. Thanks to his boost of another five hundred to his payment, the medical experts finally agreed, with a final warning of no turning back once the drugs were pumped inside him. Needless to say, much of the Spartan IV news was kept from most eyes save for candidates and personnel inside.

"I'm going to need you to sit down." A pretty blonde haired nurse ordered as she walked in. His eyes widened, it took some time to really adjust to his new height. Normally, he would only have been half a head taller than the woman and now was a full foot her maximum.

"You look surprised."

"I didn't expect to get this tall."

She chuckled, something sounding like a wind chime. "There's always that Spartan who freaks out cause they're taller."

Covalus lay down on the bed again, allowing the nurse to hook his arm into a new IV bag. "Remarkably, you've exhibited excellent recovery traits and if everything is set, you may be able to wear the MJOLNIR armor."

That got his spirits up. If he recovered fast enough, he may be able to put his project ahead of schedule.

The door opened, revealing a pair of men in casual combat fatigues. Their expression was hardened and didn't change when they regarded Covalus or his nurse.

"We're associates of Mr. Covalus here. I hope it doesn't bother you that we need to speak to him privately."

"Not at all." She flashed a contagious smile, "Just let me get the cart out of the way."

Both men waited until she had left with her service cart. When the door shut, he finally spoke.

"So what's the word on the squad sent with the mortars."

"An absolute disaster. One of them was killed by a sniper and the second committed suicide. The other two were captured by the elites."

Ash Covalus jerked his head in surprise, "Captured?! Since when are fuckin elites taking prisoners?"

"We don't know. They traveled the route where the cameras and sensors are least sensitive. They had opened fire much further away than we anticipated which was where they were caught and then attacked. The elite side of the border suffered no casualties."

"You gotta be fucking kidding me. All I asked was to simply probe the defenses these Talam dirtbags had and I end up with them running away with their tail between their asses and then killed and captured."

"There's not much we can do." The second man looked wary at the first, "You know if you want a prisoner release from the elite side, they're going to demand a cease of hostility from us. If you want your project to succeed, then we need to continue our efforts on evicting them out of Eudemon."

"How vulnerable is the leader of the elites?"

"Um, that depends on whom. For Eudemon, it's the leader of the bordering state, for the majority, it's the Arbiter."

"Idiot." Covalus muttered, "The bordering state on Eudemon."

In response, the second man removed a datapad from his backpack. Opening it up and typing a few commands, he then presented it to the chairman of Covalus security.

"Kaidon Akuo Talam. The youngest of four children from the Sanghelios state of Thansanee. Barely graduated from the Thansan College of Warfare and was accepted into the Covenant two years before it collapsed. He then returned and sought refuge here on Eudemon to help rebuilt the Talam lineage. His older brothers served in the Covenant, with one being killed in action."

"How good is his combat record?"

"What part of barely passing college did you miss out on?"

"Does the crest match?" The sword that killed Robert Covalus was now secure in Ash's HQ.

"That's an affirmitave. It looks like Akuo Talam was responsible for your son's death."

Covalus now wished that the recovery wouldn't take as long. As soon as he received his armor, he was going to carve a path straight to the kaidon sitting his ass on that fancy throne and make him plead for mercy. They only way he would be satisfied was by Akuo's gruesome death, which Ash Covalus had already planned right to the last stab.

"You know what might be a good idea boss?"

He was too busy daydreaming about his revenge when his man had asked, "What?"

"A good idea is to maybe even see if someone else wants the elites evicted?"

"Like who?" Covalus hadn't thought of the idea and wasn't in particularly in favor. However, perhaps a few on the opposite side could ironically prove useful for his future plans.

"Could be anyone on Eudemon, human or elite. I'm sure not all of them are happy about coexisting with humans here."

* * *

**UNSC Ballista**

"So this quote on quote, headmaster is an asset to you?"

"That's correct." Vaal Talam folded his arms as a dossier of Thansan College or Warfare Headmaster Sovl Talam appeared on the main screen. Drew Rayson sat alongside in Trip's command chair, having the conn, watching the information scroll past.

The second oldest onboard, pushing his mid-fifties, surpassed by steward and chef Francois, Drew Rayson was Trip Aegis' best friend and partner in founding the Blades. Both of them had found Vaal who had started a likeminded perspective with a few of the best sangheili that survived the bloody conflict. Silvery hair was crowed atop his slowly balding head and even an athletic shirt couldn't hide the growing paunch in his gut. Drew's mind was groaning, dreading the stair exercise that Doc Inselton had waiting for him before the delicious barbeque rib dinners were served. Despite his old physical state, Drew maintained a sharpness as Aegis did, if not even more. He treated every machine as if it was a family to him, even the Blades' T-52 phantom. Because of his careful resource management and capability to optimize a mission wherever, he remained as one of the most respected members of the team. Drew served in the UNSC Marine Corps of Engineers, studying much of the Covenant tech early in the war. He was quite familiar with weaponry and could still hold his own in combat.

"Sovl Talam. Born on September 30, 2473. Current headmaster of the Thansan College of Warfare. Notable sangheili supremist." He looked at Vaal, who towered above him by nearly two and a half feet. "Sounds a lot like you."

"Dispense of the mocking. Sovl and his college can be a great asset into investigating the ambassador's disappearance and stopping whoever wants the elites kicked out."

"I don't think having an elite supremist is really going to help. For all we know, he probably has some extremists of his own trying to bomb the UEG governor."

"He is a mentor and a friend of mine. Although his personality can be a bit rough, he's always wanted to work for improvement in the elite's as well as the Talam lineage's welfare."

"Whatever." Drew dismissed it with a wave, shutting off the main screen and the profile, "I'm off to my personal hell at the gym."

After Rayson had left, Vaal headed straight to his quarters. Lying down on the bed, he finally had the time to think over Sovl's words. The headmaster was absolutely correct; the Talam lineage was still in decline. Birth rates were at their lowest since the end of the war. Now with a foothold on a suitable territory and a steadily rising population, the Talam lineage could possibly survive. Being one of the two states that bordered human territory, they were regarded as weak sangheili, unable to defend themselves from human attackers. In truth, kaidon Akuo and his forces could decimate the entire human side ten times over, but the story of a man or woman killed by a trigger happy elite would be the one thing to have sangheili presence gone and any progress for Talam would crumble into dust.

Vaal's comlink buzzed and vibrated. "Commander."

"Hey Vaal, tell Drew that he needs to get en route to Reach if the peacekeeping role is finished. The UNSC might have a breakthrough, but it'll only work if you're present."

"What is our breakthrough?"

"Sorry." Aegis replied, "I can't tell you. Just arrive at Reach and I'll give you the coordinates."

* * *

**A breakthrough? Next chapter will be out shortly. Thanks for reading and reviewing everyone, you all give my writing purpose!  
**


	13. Vahkai II

**Firebase Noble, Reach**

**September 17, 2558**

Situated just before the looming snowcapped mountains in the distance, Firebase Noble stood firmly on Eposz's borders of the urban and vast frontiers.

The largest military installation on the continent, only an hour's drive away from New Alexandria, served as the primary response installation to any threat, be it Covenant or rebel attacks. On the base grounds, there were all notable units among the many garrisoned there, 6 standard infantry divisions, 4 armored brigades, a large F-41 broadsword squadron, 3 squadrons of pelicans, a significant amount of hornets and falcons, several aircraft for cargo and refuel operations and even motor pools for a large amount of warthogs, scorpions, tigers and elephants.

However, the famous unit attached to Firebase Noble was its Spartan contingent. Named after the famed Spartan team who fearlessly defended Reach from the Covenant onslaught, the firebase was built quickly, starting the minute rebuilding commenced on Reach. Progress was slow planet wide, as radiation still remained high in certain concentrated areas.

The base was opened in late 2554 by two of the surviving members of Noble Team, whom have retired from duty and with children were living somewhere on Earth. With the size of a small city, it was quite hard to find where one had to go upon touching down at the giant airfield on the base's north end.

Home to the Spartan IV 37th Special Shock Division, or SSD, this was the lone Spartan unit permanently attached to the base. The unit's actual size was unknown, but it wasn't large. To many joining the Spartan IVs, that was the pinnacle of their military career. The ideal units to join were the groups of fireteams stationed on the_ Infinity_, Gamma Halo and ONIRF Trevelyan. However the 37th technically did not exist, escaping the aspirations of many. Only a few individuals outside the unit knew of such. Spartans inside were to take an oath of secrecy to preserve the unit's covert operations. In such, to help keep them from making reckless mistakes, many Spartans that were selected were in some sort of relationship, married or otherwise. Much of what they did was similar to the Blades, albeit on the behalf of the UEG and UNSC. The deployments from a broad variety of operations from conventional warfare and special reconnaissance to HVI protection and assassination. Basically the 37th SSD was put in missions that no other unit in the UNSC could accomplish.

Trip Aegis' visit to Firebase Noble for the personnel was among the back of his mind. If he were here to recruit new members for the Blades, the men and women of the 37th were the unit to look after. He had just been informed a mere month before starting the company about its inception, already moving to start making preparations when he was asked to join the unit. He declined the offer. He now stood in the viewing area of an interrogation room with Adamant, Rachel and a couple others that ran the compound for the process.

Vaal was escorted in by a pair of marines with a badge that looked unnaturally small on his chest armor. Inside the interrogation room, their prisoner was seated, chained to the chair in the center. In front, a retractable table could be used for objects or things to assist the interrogator. Cameras provided angles to what was happening inside. An interrogator often was equipped with a headset from which others outside the sound protected room could often relay information.

This time, their prisoner was much different. Unlike the typical innies and terrorists, the newest visitor to Firebase Noble's prison was a sangheili.

Retrieved by a 37th team aboard _Infinity_ for the capture specifically, the four man Spartan team was on leave and thus not able to be conversed on how the capture went down. Only the handler and 37th's commander would know how the operation commenced.

The captured elite had been stripped of his maroon zealot armor and his bare skin shined in the overhead lights. Purple blood trickled down his face and body, pooling near the drain on the floor. Obviously, the previous interrogator had little success. Trip and Rachel noticed on his chest what seemed to be a tattoo of an emblem, the symbol partially made up the Talam lineage's crest as well as matching the ones of the pictures Morand had taken.

"He's all yours." Trip pointed inside the room. Vaal nodded, heading over, "I'll inform you of what else I want to ask."

As Vaal entered and started his turn, Trip looked back at Adamant and Rachel, "Elite zealots are known for being big talkers. However, I happen to know a friend who happens to be one." He gestured inside to Vaal, who was now glaring at the zealot. "Figured maybe he'd use some magic to cough some answers."

The Blades sangheili had spent a good ten minutes, using Trip's ideas for interrogation as well as some of his own. However, none of the ONI personnel, even Adamant had any way to really torture or get information from an elite. That was the reason why Vaal had flown in. Much of what he was talking was completely indistinguishable, since Trip's grasp on the language was blank. Thankfully, translators had been installed in multiple different languages to listeners outside the room, sangheili included.

He now paced in front of the captured zealot. The UNSC records had him participating in the First Battle of Requiem. He led two lances against the Shadow Company, which ultimately proved to be suicide, thanks to the company's aid of the namesake fireteam Shadow. The UNSC devastated the lances and the zealot attempted a hasty escape in a banshee, but was shot down by Shadow leader, manning a warthog turret before he could get away. He had crash landed nearby and was captured by Shadow Company. The prisoner approval was given by Del Rio, but was ordered off the _Infinity _as soon as possible.

"I assume the weather was warm?" Vaal casually asked as he continued to pace the room. When the zealot said nothing, he continued, "I know you're not from Sanghelios or Hesduros. They keep the dogs outside." Still no response, but the zealot watched Vaal's every move thorough empty black eyes. Research on the new ranking system in Jul 'Mdama's Storm Covenant was much less sophisticated than its predecessor which opposed the UNSC. Three basic infantry ranks, storm, commander and warrior. In addition, there were also rangers, who specialized in hazardous environments where conventional elites couldn't operate in; they also could operate in the usual tactics, using their jetpacks to add uncanny agility to an advantageous trait over slower targets.

The zealots, however were much differently structured. In the original Covenant, they were reported to the Ministry of Fervent Intercession, where they served dual roles from commanding entire ships and legions to artifact retrieval and intelligence obtaining. The title was difficult to get to and previous requirements were merited by casualties. A single zealot usually had spilled blood of thousands of individuals to attain his rank. The Ministry was dissolved after the Covenant's fragmentation.

In Jul 'Mdama's Covenant, the Storm zealots now served in political roles alongside their unparalleled combat prowess. More of a philosophy than a title, they were also more frequently seen, having a higher population. Spotting of one in their distinctive maroon armor and blue glowing headgear, the UNSC often targeted them, as they were usually the leaders. The Didact's Hand had a bodyguard unit consisting of the best in this title and specifically devoted to his protection.

"The predator feeds on what they want." He finally snarled, spitting a mix of clear and purple fluid on the floor.

Vaal turned away, "He's not talking because he doesn't know anything. No secret societies, nothing."

Suddenly, the elite roared, jerking out of his chair, trying to stand up. The chains strained, hold the prisoner firmly in place, although standing. The move surprised everyone, even Adamant and Rachel. With just as swift movements, Vaal balled his hand into a fist and hastily punched the zealot in the jaw. His mouth recoiled from the impact and a few ivory splinters of teeth had been dislodged and flung on the back wall. The force of the blow forced him back into his seat.

"You think hitting me is going to get you any good?" The zealot's eyes narrowed, his face slowly becoming a smug expression. Vaal said nothing, wiping off some blood that had been splashed on his green colored armor.

"You're Vaal Talam. The talk of everyone about your declination into your master's leash has spread beyond what you've done." It was odd coming from him, as the complete Talam crest wasn't found on him, making this one to not be a member of the clan.

"Look brother." Vaal made sure the last word was done with malice, "We can stay here all day and I can create a thousand new ways to make you sing or you can come clean and we'll never cross paths again."

"If you know a thousand ways to make me talk, why haven't you employed one of them?" It was a good try. Vaal had multiple ways to make even zealots give up their personal secrets, but most of them took time, a variable the Blades didn't have. He was also bluffing on a thousand ways; he had nowhere near that amount.

"Heh." Trip let a chuckle escape his mouth, "Reminds me a bit of my childhood."

"What do you mean?" Rachel looked over, obviously quite eager to know more about his past.

"Nothing special, just during intermediate school when I was picked on. One particular bully continued to tell me that I wouldn't make the basketball team. Later that day, he confronted me outside the parking lot, saying that I got lucky and was determined to make sure I wouldn't make it. He must've really not known that I could fight, cause I broke his nose and almost dislocated his arm." He waved his hand, "No clue where he is now, but he never associated with me ever again following that, save for basketball."

Vaal had now placed his fingers on the zealot's mandibles, just underneath the throat. He applied pressure, causing immense amounts of pain to the mouth as well as partially suffocating the victim. The zealot stared defiantly, but his demeanor was weakening as his own nervous system was threatening to move against him.

When he was about to break, Vaal released his grip, leaving the zealot ashamed as he panted. More blood dripped from his jaws, but he was too weak to do anything about it. "I like your tattoo. See it quite often back home."

With that, he turned and walked out. Inside, the zealot stared in utter hatred at Vaal before finally shutting his eyes in an attempt to dull the ordeal he had just suffered.

"A thousand torture techniques huh?" Trip handed him a wet towel so that he could wipe off the blood and whatever fluids had dirtied his armor.

"Eh, I guess I let it go to my head." He chuckled, watching Morand back away slightly. Unnoticeable to her, Trip gave a signal to let it go.

Adamant tore into their conversation, "What did you get?"

"Well actually I was using one of my techniques without him knowing it." He jerked a finger back to the captive, "This time I didn't even have to start talking to figure out what he was hiding. That zealot's tattoo is part of the Talam emblem. It depicts ordinary warriors who choose to purify themselves and their societies by becoming predators."

"Predators of what?"

"Predators of the unclean. Get anybody you can to start searching references to Vahkai."

* * *

**Vaal's bluffing still helped him. Just what are the Vahkai and how are they fitting into this conflict?**

**The 37th SSD are like the SEAL Team Six of the Spartan IVs. They're the best of the best. Who knows, I may experiment and write about them. Suggestions about this concept are greatly appreciated.**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing everyone! You give my writing purpose.**


	14. Vahkai III

**UNSC Ballista over Reach**

**September 15, 2558**

"Vahkai?"

Vaal Talam nodded when Luke Riley and Danny Tyler both simultaneously asked the same question.

"Isn't that the top secret conspirator organization spread across the elite planet?"

"Vahkai, in our language, predator. Some of us choose to move and purify our society by becoming Vahkai. The movements had started hundreds of years ago when the war colleges first were established. A few members of the very best apprentices in the academy were addressed with enforcing that the academy's ideals were never compromised in both the school grounds and society."

"Oh great." Danny unpaused the console game. He and Luke were playing a twenty-first century shooter game with technology that would've been considered next tier during that time. Although the assault rifle on the screen resembled some UNSC weapons, it was still considered primitive, due to its age.

"In a way, they're like an elite version of Templars." He knocked Luke's elbow when he didn't understand.

"The zealot that the Spartan team captured on Requiem was a member of the Vahkai. The markings match on the elites attacking humans on the Eudemon side."

"It doesn't make sense on why the Vahkai would see fit to the elite's own eviction. It also is odd on why they would consider joining the Storm in the first place."

"Think of it this way," Danny paused the game again, "It's obvious that the elites and humans on Eudemon don't like each other at all. Governor Florette has already put the troops stationed on high alert, but so far hasn't organized any offense. Same thing with Kaidon Talam. If Vaal's brother is as honorable as they come, then I doubt the other states would do the same without one another's support. So if Talam and Florette aren't authorizing any attack, then we'll have to shift our observations to extremists. Someone wants humans off Eudemon and somebody else wants elites off too."

"To answer your previous question," Vaal cut in, "The Vahkai have been around for a long time, longer than even some of my ancestors. An additional duty was to uphold our religion to the gods as an utmost priority. Anything below standard was considered heresy. An apprentice that graduated from the War College that was not accepted or considered for a high ranking position had days to commit suicide before Vahkai executed him."

"Scary." Riley quipped.

"You don't know the half of it."

"There is still one piece of evidence about the Vahkai," Danny looked a little nervously at Vaal. The sangheili had grown accustomed to just about everyone's expressions and already begun anticipating what he was about to say before it left Tyler's lips.

"Kaidon Akuo Talam could be a Vahkai member."

* * *

**Talam Keep, Eudemon**

"Remember that the sword will be an extension to your arm! Utilize it like it is a part of you!"

"HA!" A snapping of sticks along with a sharp shout in unison pierced the air in the keep's main training courtyard. The waving of them was just as fluid when they blocked, swung and struck.

Kaidon Akuo Talam observed from a walkway above the courtyard. The sun had started rising and it cast an orange light through the angle of where it had risen. Weather predictions stated that now the temperature was starting to cool down slightly. Although their human counterparts would likely be inside most of the time in their air conditioned homes and offices, the sangheili thrived off the heat. Sometimes, the August and September heat felt like a mild day back at Thansan.

"All the reason to start war in the summer." He muttered to himself, "We'd tolerate the heat better."

Watching the younglings perform their sword drills with the instructor came as an important part to him, feeling about the keep's security was crucial. He had both male and females in the course. Despite the offer to send a certified tutor coming from Sovl Talam, Akuo felt that it was better that a basic teacher was assigned. They were just children, no matter if they were boys or girls.

He sighed burying his face in his hands. It wasn't even the day's start and he was already having problems.

Human threats had once again increased against their sangheili neighbors. Now their government was already advising him to pack his population up and prepare to leave. When he announced this to his state, they were nevertheless outraged.

Contrary to his belief, he was immensely proud of his people. Having a reputation for being fiercely patriotic and loyal to their superiors, the Talam people were known for being brilliant strategists, excellent leaders and good comrades. It still puzzled him why the empire had declined despite these traits that usually helped others flourish.

The newest threat had just come in an hour before he awoke. The aide who delivered it was shaking from reading it before delivering. From an unknown individual, Akuo was demanded to have his population as well as the neighboring sangheili states leave Eudemon by the end of the month as well as turn himself in for execution or else expect an all-consuming horde to be rained from the sky.

He signaled an aide, "Go and assemble the elders in the council chamber within the hour."

"As you wish." He hurried off, leaving Akuo to don his golden kaidon armor. In a way, he felt a lot of pride when he wore it. It was not easy to attain the kaidon rank; many elders debated for hours on why he had been a good choice. The process was lengthy and boring, if he wasn't fit to rule then fine, he didn't want to sit there and listen to his errors and other flawed things. However, because of the troubled decision he was faced with, many had quite a negative opinion, stating that his actions would start the Talam lineage's downfall once more.

Striding into the council chamber, he looked at the fourteen elders seated in a semi-circle with him at the center. Many of these at the table were old friends and fellow initiates into the military. A few servants milled around, bringing water and light edibles to snack on before he started the meeting.

Looking at each elder, who nodded in turn to show that he had the floor, he began, accepting the Covenant made information tablet. His bodyguard, a heavy-set warrior clad in white armor stood nearby, a plasma rifle and plasma pistol at his holsters.

"My brothers, we are experiencing a crisis like any other. This morning, our human neighbors to the east are now getting bolder and more aggressive. I received a message from an unknown individual from the other side, which was traced by a specialist of mine. Although we cannot pinpoint the exact location of where it had originated from, this human means business."

"Then let him come." An elder named Wiur goaded, "He has no idea of how strong we are."

"Wiur, first of all, we go to war with the colonists here on Eudemon, they have the backup of their other worlds who are much stronger. Second, declaring war on humanity here will surely get us kicked off and have an even worse image of ourselves." Akuo corrected, "I'm running out of options and if these attacks continue against us, we will have no choice but to follow Wiur's proposal of war. I hate to say it, but we'd inevitably lose with them having UNSC support."

"We could always ask for support from the Storm." Another elder suggested.

"And then what?" A third one interjected, "They help us and we end up dragged into the war they're waging against the humans. Even if we were to gain their alliance, we'd have to do something in return. They'd ask for support, which would mean men, vehicles, weapons and warships. Maybe even food. If we're to have a solid defense force, that's something we can't skimp on."

It was true; just about any support Akuo could obtain aside from the four fellow states was nonexistent. Each had their pros and cons. The UNSC would side with the humans. The Arbiter would provide a brother with reinforcements, but he was a long ways away and a diversion of his warships could give his enemies and advantage. The Storm would instantly come to their aid, even already sending Akuo a message, pledging a task force would arrive and provide reinforcements to repel the human invaders. The con with them was that they were still quite religious fanatics, no doubt asking for resources once the war ended. He didn't even want to consider asking the kig-yar or any other Covenant species, particularly the jiralhanae.

"On to other topics," Wiur waved his hand, oddly dismissing the warmongering. Ironically, his nature was belligerent, insisting that any threat was met by threats or force. Part of what he said was actually legit, a proper military exercise could intimidate the humans to how much the sangheili were capable of doing and might stem off unwanted aggression. However, it could go south as in prompting a preemptive strike to weaken them from gaining a surplus of military power.

"How are the peacekeepers doing?" It was difficult to say the letter "P" for elites, making it sound like an "F"

"They are ready for proper response to anything, from a full out riot to a bomb threat. Not to mention the commander states that applicants are rising."

"Where are we on the other states?"

Akuo cleared his throat, "I spoke with kaidon Jeqkogo yesterday. He has put his forces on high alert and said that they would be ready if necessary to assist us if humans strike. That completes a sort of alliance for all the sangheili on Eudemon. I've outlined the proposals for what we hold as a union of states."

"You've proposed an alliance?" Elder Z'irsd inquired.

"That is correct Z'irsd." Akuo took the information tablet from his bodyguard and began outlining his proposals. "I introduce to you the Strategic Alliance for Sangheili of Eudemon or the SASE. I will be holding a conversation with the other kaidon's about this formation. However, I wish to keep this secret. Only when I publicly announce it will you be allowed to inform your people. I don't want this to be an act of aggression towards the human side, but if we're going to stand together, we have to do this."

"Do you mind if we hear the threatening message that instigated this pact?" Wiur asked.

"Of course." Akuo scrolled out of the menu and pulled up a copy of the message. "Kaidon Akuo Talam, you do not know my identity, but I am the one who is calling for the increased violence against you and the other elite territories. You as an individual are the sole reason why I am doing this. Although what evidence eludes you, if I refresh your memory, it may provide some insight of whatever honor you still have intact." The kaidon's hand tightened.

"Years ago, you stabbed and killed my son with a sword on Concord. It was hard tracking you down, but now that I know who the culprit is, you're now the target of my revenge. However, I may have a change of mind, but only if you do the honorable thing you hinge heads do and heed my warning."

"Inform every sangheili residing on Eudemon to depart and make way for humanity, the original colonists and rightful owners of this moon. You are simply a barrier to our advancement and the actions you continue to perform further negate your image. Not that I damn care. In addition, you are to surrender yourself and face me in an unarmed situation so that I can properly dispense of you and finally avenge my son."

Akuo finished the message, looking up to observe the elders' reaction. Z'irsd had a perplexed look on his face; having been given a history lesson on the kaidon's troubled past. Wiur on the other hand, was outraged, no doubt having his mind made up to have a strike team eliminate this aggressor.

"You have killed the son of this mastermind?" He finally asked.

"Apparently I did." Akuo scowled, exasperated. "Back then, I was simply doing what every other elite in the Covenant did. Following orders and obtaining what honor we could. Now it's coming back to haunt me."

"What about your brother?" Another elder began, "Can he be of any assistance?"

The kaidon's head perked up. "Vaal Talam heads a private group called the Blades who have both human and elite soldiers. Unlike most militaries, their allegiance is to money and whoever pays them. However, most of the time, they work for what they consider "good guys". His group were the ones responsible for training our peacekeepers."

"They had brothers and demons. Contact them and see if he can offer us some support. If they're advanced as they come, they might just be enough to maybe even find the unknown aggressor."

"Perhaps." Akuo stood to adjourn the meeting, "I will be meeting with the other kaidons with the terms. Hopefully the coalition should be established within the next couple of days in secrecy."

The elders gave one last final mark and then filed out, talking amongst one another as they faced their most challenging crisis. Wiur instead broke off from a pair and addressed him.

"So what happens when we go to war?"

Akuo placed a hand on the elder's shoulder, "Then we'll have to ready our armies in the summertime."

* * *

**With both sides in a tension, it's heating up like a moon sized Cold War! Can Vaal and the Blades help? Or will they?**

**On a sad note, today Asiana Airlines flight 214 crashed on approach to San Francisco. My thoughts and condolences are with the victims, a sad day for aviation.**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing everyone, you all give my writing purpose.**


	15. Vendetta I

**UNSC **_**Ballista**_

**September 18, 2558**

"Just give me a second," Luke Riley tapped a few more buttons on his computer. Scrolling through technical glyphs, the final few squares pulled up, maximizing and overlapping the smaller ones. "I'm in."

"You never cease to amaze kid." Drew Rayson set a hand on the young man's black shirt depicting a skull with a spiderweb of fractures and crimson blood.

"Amazing. The software belongs to Covalus Security."

"Is that of any relevance?" Third officer Leah Roush asked. Like several of the Blades, she had been a longtime military person before joining the team.

"You're asking that." Luke opened a separate browser depicting information on Covalus. "The top notch security system is a constant adapter, but nothing Danny and I can't handle yet. Anyway, the systems range a wide variety of security. They're not like those with guns for hire, rather online warfare, preventing amateur hackers and identity thieves from stealing valuable data from their clients. Many companies, like Sinoviet, Jotun and the UEG frequently have Covalus Security on their software."

"Sounds pretty good."

"Yeah, Covalus Security was started in a Manassas State University dorm by Ash Covalus, Jason Trent and Quinten Sumner. They first discovered a group of jockey hackers overcoming the community websites of the school and the local security had been blocked out of their own system. Thanks to their aid, the hackers were caught and the computers destroyed. Now Covalus Security is among the leading brands of software security, able to protect electronic computers, datapads and security perimeters from breaches."

"Nice to have a little history lesson about the leading software security corporation." Leah's appetite was growing and being satisfied with a plate of zucchini fritters and marinara dipping sauce. "What's so significant about it."

"Ash Covalus heads the company now, namesake obvious." Luke was enjoying his center of attention. "The company's headquarters in Eudemon on the human side near the border of the Talam State. For the longest time ever since the war had broken out, he's been a fierce human supremist. Ever since his son's death by an elite in the last year of the war, he's been discreetly voicing his disdain for the elite settlers. For example, signals are frequently scrambled, which interfere with air traffic control and networking. If the UNSC were to ever declare war against the Eudemon elites, all Covalus would do to aid them is to simply jam the signals and render them helpless without a means of interacting. They would lose the fight before it even began."

"I managed to zero off the transmission of its best point of origin. Whoever sent that threat message to Kaidon Talam had to go through a lot of Covalus security barriers just to get it bounced around satellites for an untraceable broadcast. So I deduced the sender without having to even tap into the network. Only a few people were capable of doing this, Danny and myself included."

"And?"

"Ash Covalus himself."

"I'll let you explain." Drew had a puzzled look on his face and Leah's confusion added to her sleep deprived appearance of a zombie. She usually had coffee, but Francois was nowhere to be seen, likely preparing for the dinner.

"So the son Robert Covalus joins the marines and serves in the Battle for Concord, where he holds off an overwhelming Covenant assault to allow his squad and civilians to escape. However knowing he was going to die, he had taken as many Covenant with him to the grave. So the death reports as him being a vain death, which takes his parents, Ash Covalus and Jane Hutchinson quite hard. Of course, she mourns his death, but he becomes furious and his grudge against the elites even more hated."

"So he hates elites." Drew waved his hand, "A lot of people do."

"Well get this. He is even more pissed off that the governor of Eudemon is allowing elite colonists to populate the uncharted areas of the moon, a place where humanity would've expanded in due time. The grudge is in particular to the Talam lineage because the sword's crest was that of the clan. So therefore, someone in a power position in Talam state is responsible for Robert Covalus' death. This is where Ambassador Beech fits into the picture. He's been crucial to the UEG and sangheili relations, stemming several conflicts. So he presents as an obstacle to Covalus' progress of revenge. So therefore, he removed the ambassador."

"So he's responsible for his disappearance? What about the silver nanobots?"

"I'm not sure about the nanobots, as Covalus security hasn't entered that type of technology and they don't even look human made. I'd say they would have to be either prehistoric human or Forerunner made. Since they're not orange colored, I'd say the former."

The more Luke explained his theory, the more it became plausible. Ash Covalus wasn't considered a madman, but students studying business often idolized him as being zealous in attaining his goals and minimizing errors. It was in an obsessed but effective way to lead a company. Already, Covalus Security's President Quinten Sumner was increasing his duties to take over from Ash Covalus' frequent absences. His secretary wasn't pleased on the other hand.

"I checked shuttle DS-2687's maintenance logs obtained from ONI investigators, the software was programmed as Covalus Security for the navigation drives. At first, I skimmed over it, but Danny caught the fact that Covalus doesn't produce any GPS models or maps. Unless the pilots were using a Covalus branded stellar map, I think the nav computer was hijacked by the security systems."

"So then the pilots had lost control of the shuttle?"

"Not exactly, they rather flew into their own demise. It makes sense having to slinghot around an area for greater speed back into slipspace. Why they had been out of it was beyond my questioning. The hijacked nav drive had told the pilots to make a slingshot around the nanobot infested Imbel Alpha. A command they carried out, however the clouds turned out to be quite a lethal surprise and the shuttle disappeared."

"Covalus could possibly know about the nanomites, ever since he diverted the shuttle via the hacking."

"Well the system's administrators can probe into systems to tweak any glitches that happen and I'm sure the leader of the company is no exception."

"We'd better contact Trip. He needs to see this coming." Leah ran off to get her datapad.

"What can we do beside look into his other life?" Drew asked when she had left.

Luke shrugged, "Aside from whatever Leah is telling the Commander, we'll just have to predict his next move before something bad happens."

* * *

"First off, let me tell you why breaking into his headquarters is a bad idea. Covalus is constantly under a highly positive public image. His work prevents millions of lives from being ruined every day. We go in and our help to the elite/human relations won't be possible. Not to mention we'll get caught by the media if Covalus suspects he is under surveillance."

"Really?" Leah looked disappointed; she must have already started planning on getting to him. "I don't think that a head of a software security company will be wary of being under watch by someone else. After all, it doesn't have to be with cameras and sensors."

She had a point there. Maybe use original techniques. While Covalus' software frequently protected modern hacking techniques, they had no means to overcome a conventional lock other than a standard lockpick that wasn't even manufactured by them.

"Unless the UNSC believes that there's a legitimate reason Covalus needs to be investigated, they won't apply for anything else. While I can be as suspicious, if we were to go in, we'd have to be completely undetectable."

He sighed, knowing that if Covalus was involved in the species tension, the only way to find out was to infiltrate his headquarters.

"Get a team ready for overwatch. We head in late tonight."

Fitting the familiar helmet of his MJOLNIR armor over his head gave Aegis another reassurance. It wasn't frequent he wore it when in a civilian area unless under a battle. Due to so many perils and close calls involving his armor, he has had it destroyed in nearly every way possible. His new helmet was a Pathfinder variant that glowed a light green heavily contrasting with his cyan visor. His shoulders were Venator, chestplate Recon and had the outer plated arm and leg outlets. One of his many suits, he often just threw on whatever he had found first. Most of the time, he preferred the suits that struck fear in his opponents like the CIO, Orbital, Hazop, Wetwork and Venator. In his opinion, all armors chipped a fear spot in someone; you just had to deploy it against the right foe for that advantage.

Because he was the only one planning to infiltrate the headquarters, he accepted Leah's idea of herself and Spartan Robertson for watching his back. He now stood in the armory, deciding on what to take.

The female Spartan had already selected the advanced SRS-99D-S2 AM. Using several optical adjusters she had implemented a unique dual band scope that implemented both night vision and thermal in one. Trip had carried flashbangs and smoke grenades which he would deploy and allow her to fire on the visually impaired. Leah was going similarly armed for long range, equipped with an M395 DMR.

Aegis went light, sacrificing mobility for firepower and holstered his favored Acheron A9. The semi-automatic handgun series had been inspired by the 21st century personal defense pistol Five seven manufactured by Belgian arms fabricator FN Herstal. It was natural for Acheron to follow the line, as one of its founders had an ancestor who had worked for FN. The A9 was their newest model and it featured tritium illuminated fixed sights and a couple of rails for accessories such as a laser sight or electronic aid.

He preferred the A9 for its uncanny ability to pierce most civilian grade body armor, so the pistol was illegal to own in most colonies. Acheron's A9 was in heavy competition against the Misriah Armory M6H, the new standard sidearm of the UNSC. While the M6H was favored by the UNSC, the A9 was slowly becoming the weapon of choice for the UEG presidential bodyguard and ONI Section 1.

"Everyone ready?" He asked. Leah and Kelly gave him a thumbs up.

"Then let's do this."

* * *

**It's not looking good. Covalus and the Vahkai threatening human-sangheili relations?! Will Akuo and the Blades be able to suppress this threat before it gets too violent?**

**Now it's vacation time. Sorry for the lack of posts for the time being. I promise to post another chapter as soon as I can get back on my computer.**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing everyone. You give my writing purpose.**


	16. Vendetta II

**Covalus Security Headquarters**

**Mastema, Eudemon**

**September 18, 2558**

"You think he'd be paranoid that two Spartans and an intel officer just infiltrated one of the most secure compounds on the moon?"

"I doubt it." Trip replied, earning chuckles from his two teammates. "His anger's probably going to dull his common sense, like when Danny's target practice in his shooter games."

This brought a fresh round of laughter. Danny Tyler was known for being a hardcore gamer and his temper would put him as someone not to trifle with when he was either doing good or bad.

Anyone who first heard of their conversation would never know that they were about to infiltrate a base. It wasn't that they were afraid, but rather to keep themselves professional and maintain focus on the task at hand.

When Trip infiltrated Covalus, Kelly and Leah would provide overwatch from a nearby apartment building. The third officer of the _Ballista_ carried cameras to watch their backs in case a curious person decided to investigate what two women were doing at the top roof.

Starting his entry, he had planned to perform a zipline jump over the fence from an elevated position. Since the advanced thermal and electronic sensors would surely detect his presence he planned to have his overwatching snipers create chaos. The attack would draw armed security to their hidden position, masking his true objective, to be able to obtain intelligence from Covalus' personal computer.

He held a device that resembled a wrist grappling hook. Firing it a good two hundred feet away, the massive three pronged metal front wrapped twice around the balcony's barrier. Tugging to secure the line, he had a second hook device in his hands. He had only done this in his ONI days, not when in a two ton MJOLNIR armor.

"Here goes nothing."

Using his increased weight to start his descent, he moved along the line at a rather rapid pace. No lights snapped on and no sirens began screaming. His luck may have shined upon him for once.

Then he realized that his heavyweight was actually now working against him. Nearing the bottom, he was moving too fast. Dropping meant that he would sustain serious injuries. It wasn't necessary to hear Leah's girly voice squeaking about his descent speed. The infiltration hadn't even started and they had been compromised.

Trip hit the balcony with a loud clang, his tumbling armor effortlessly shattering the glass window. When he got up, there was strangely no screeching of any security alarms. Surprising, but it already put Trip on high alert, either someone wanted him to break in or he was simply lucky. His heart was firing like a machine gun when he picked himself up. Now his discovery was only a matter of time until some eagle eye armed guard spotted the shattered window.

He headed to the elevator; the power always remained on for engineers or late-night workers. In case of a blackout, there were auxiliary devices that would kick on the millisecond the main power failed. However, he maintained his cover from the lights being out.

"Time to make it even worse." He chuckled, activating his armor ability. Active Camo generated a near invisible appearance. Other than a slight distortion, Trip was hidden well enough to hide from Vaal's senses, except when the opponent had a HUD and visual aids. The camouflage lasted so long and Aegis would have to wait for his generator to recharge before using it again. Movement was also a factor, staying perfectly still made the camo last the longest and the generator would drain the fastest if he was moving at a fast pace.

The office had maintained a clean appearance, with rows of cubicles all lined up by the computers and tablets placed in their recharging sockets. Differences varied, from holo-stills of the employee's families to decorations. Trip was a bit amused at seeing a gold plated datapad. Snatch and dash before the police got here.

The elevator quickly came to his request, whisking him away to the top floor the second the doors met with a hiss.

"You're headed to the top floors." Leah informed him, "Watch out for advanced contingent measures."

Aegis halted the elevator as it locked on the top floor. He placed his hands in the crack of the twin sliding doors, pushing apart. Grunting from the resistance, he held it open when stepping across and sliding the elevator shaft shut so that the noise was nothing louder than a muffled thump.

The top office was extremely elaborate and the architects were paid handsomely. Jewels didn't encrust on the walls, but the granite on the reception desk looked sleek enough to be a shield should an intruder burst from there wielding a gun. The cost of the slab must have been several thousand credits. Along the desk were several office supplies like staplers, tape, pens and a pad of paper. The far right side was a socket for electronic things.

Behind the desk was a glass pane that had the Covalus logo carved into it. The water falling from the top would part when it hit the niches so that it would create a look of a complete water design. Around the perimeter of the room were leather seats and nightstands, stacked with magazines in neat piles.

Without a need to be subtle, Trip found the double doors behind the glass waterfall. Withdrawing his pistol, he shot the side where the round busted the security mechanisms. Patching it up as best he could, the doors were opened and he stepped into a long hallway. It was dimly lit, so he activated his VISR and deactivated the exhausted camo generator.

The doors lining both sides of the hall were mainly long tables surrounded by chairs, meeting tables. What really piqued his interest was the door at the far back. The door had a brass emblem of Covalus preceded by a smaller yet rich desk that must have belonged to his secretary. In front was a small panel that was on the floor. Those who entered stepped on the panel which scanned it for weapons. He ignored the beeping as he stepped through, knowing that the only link of the detection would only be sent to the secretary's computer, which wasn't even on.

Covalus' office was twice the size of his own room onboard _Ballista_. Nothing inside save for the office supplies was among the most expensive that money was able to buy. His desk was moveable to the large glass pane in the background providing a breathtaking view of Mastema. He definitely had a futuristic vibe.

Aegis crossed straight to the computer, typing carefully so that he didn't accidentally destroy the device with his augmented hands. Provided with the security barriers the transmission had been sent through, he quickly searched through the tens of thousands of similar measures over all the colonies until the dozen from Eudemon came up that had been breached.

They were all green and showed no signs of malfunctioning. He checked the history of the firewalls…still nothing. Continuing his search for another five minutes, it still proved fruitless until he had an idea. Backtracking some more, he didn't find anything, but instead found another equally intriguing piece of information. A plan to evict the sangheili colonists.

As audacious as it appeared, each step was meticulously planned out so that the biggest conflict Eudemon ever had on its soil could be controlled from that desk.

Covalus had already done the first two steps; create tensions between the two warring sides. He had been the one to send saboteurs over to the Talam border to show how untrained the military was at fighting an unconventional way. This action both scared and emboldened humanity. Second, he had sent the threatening memo to Akuo himself.

"Whoever sent that message covered their tracks remarkably well."

"A little too well." Trip spun around at the sharp male voice that came from behind. His heart was beating quickly all of a sudden.

Ash Covalus closed the gap with two immense strides and swung his hands faster than lightning. Aegis barely dodged the machete and returned the punch. His fist had glanced off at a bad angle, only shimmering Covalus' shields. Much of the shock was coming from his ability to obtain MJOLNIR armor.

Firing his A9 in single shots, each one simply bounced off the shields. Covalus moved forward again, throwing even more blows that Aegis easily parried, but had to lower his weapon to do so. There was no style of honor in his fighting, he just wanted to swing punches and then finish off the commander with his razor sharp machete. However, the use of the Operator armor he wore made him a much more dangerous foe.

Aegis had never gone up against another Spartan in his lifetime, save for the War Games simulations. In there he was in a safe and comfortable environment as he and several ONI instructors went up in combat exercises against Spartan teams to test how good they were at fighting others.

Now he was ambushed and on the defensive from someone who technically was not qualified to even wear the armor, but did because he must have stolen it with the augmentation drugs.

Trip found his arm being twisted with extreme strength and couldn't help dropping his pistol on the ground. He ignored Leah's concerned voice so he could focus on the fight. They no doubt were having a front seat view of what was happening at the top.

He withdrew his arms and brought them down in a hammer type of strike. Covalus caught his blow and they struggled as he moved with his free hand for the machete. As soon as he grasped it and tried to impale Aegis, he rolled out of the way at the same time giving the business head a nasty elbow and a push that sent him back towards the window.

All they heard was a quiet ping as Spartan Robertson looked through her scope at what had been going on. Crosshairs centered on the blue Spartan, she held her breath before pulling the trigger. The round had been stopped by the thick glass pane that absorbed the kinetic force, barely passing through which then only breached Covalus' shields. That was all the time Aegis needed to stun him again with another knee and tighten his grip on the A9. As soon as he could draw a bead, he put a round in Covalus' chestplate just milliseconds before a deafening fireball exploded from the office entrance.

It had come without warning, but it may have been what was left from the sniper round punched through to hydrogen lines ten feet through the walls. The glass behind him was instantly shattered as the flames lit up the night sky.

Aegis was thrown out of the building, barely capable of staying conscious. Alarms blared in his suit and the interior was an eerie flash of red as the medical biofoam injectors tried to heal his sustained wound.

His wound; looking at his left shoulder, he saw a large shard of metal embedded in the armor joint between the chestplate and shoulder guard. Blood tricked off and fell a long ways down.

"Commander!" Leah shouted, "Are you alright?"

Trip heard the faint whine of a hornet, no doubt a police one coming to investigate. Covalus' body was now vanished, no doubt him picking himself up and avoiding a scene. His exposure as a Spartan could ruin his company's reputation.

On the other hand, Aegis was completely a sitting duck. With his uninjured arm he moved so that he could see the bottom.

"Get back up and we can descend from there." Robertson suggested,

"You get out of here." Aegis responded, "I'll find a way."

"I can't leave you." Roush protested.

"You have to trust me. Just like you've done always."

With the spotlight nearly on him Aegis grinned at what he was about to do. The adrenaline rush was coming and his heart started its rapid beat like a machine gun. His daredevil side was limitless, but injured and hanging on the side made it no less thrilling. In fact, someone who attempted this shouldn't be alive.

He let go of the ledge.

* * *

**Now Covalus has escaped and has an image of Aegis burned into his mind. If the media catches on to what they're doing, the operation is finished!**

**I'm back from Europe and had one hell of a trip!**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing everyone! You give my writing purpose.**


	17. Horizon I

**Mastema, Eudemon**

**September 19, 2558**

Ash Covalus surveyed the damage caused by the explosion last night. When the detonation ravaged the office, much of the valued stuff that was flammable now sat charred. Two of his management datapads were melted and disfigured. Surprisingly, he was still capable of walking.

His adversary, the other Spartan hadn't fared so well being flung outwards to the edge of a multi thousand foot drop that would be fatal to any Spartan without a jetpack.

Now out of his armor, he was grilling his head of building security on why the intruders had broken in so easily.

"We are the number one security company that humans have. How can a Spartan of all people waltz right in and look at the sensitive information that I have at my desk?"

"Sir, whoever had broken in your house obviously has been on your tail for some time." The chief looked around nervously, "In addition, they may have just timed it so that the gaps of our scanners missed their interference. Whoever they are, they're quite organized and complex. Normal people would think twice at breaking into an HQ building so these guys are pros."

"Why didn't you send any guards to intercept them?"

"You were already there when we reported the break-in."

Covalus' fist balled again, "You're fired." Shooing away the now distraught security chief, he took the badge and tossed it at his lieutenant. "Get all of our computer history up and see what the intruders were after."

"Sir." The newly promoted chief, a baby-faced man barely in his mid-twenties rushed over to the computers with a pair of technicians.

He left them to their work and crossed into the secretary's area. He had already called, giving her another day off while they sorted out the situation. Picking up the comlink, he put it on a private channel and dialed a number.

"How's your burglary going?" The voice on the other end was being distorted to prevent tracing.

"Investigators are slow as ever. It'll take years to decide anything. I want three of ONI's top agents on this at once."

"You'll have to go to their director for that."

"Apparently I will. Accelerate our schedule and get the containers onboard."

The voice gave a sigh, but it was more of relief than of impatience. "I'm on it. We should be done by late tomorrow."

"Wait for my arrival at the airport and get everything prepared, which includes the flight plan. Those fucking hinge-heads will never know what hit em."

* * *

**Ankara, Luna**

"Coming!"

Jane Hutchinson rushed over to the door after someone on the other end had rapped their knuckles three times. It was odd why they didn't just use the doorbell, but it still worked nonetheless.

She undid the electronic lock by typing in the code on the lower keypad. When it accepted the correct password, the door's lock audibly clicked backwards. She slid it open to see the person on the other side.

It wasn't Covalus or anyone she had expected. He was older than her by nearly a decade. His dark blue eyes portrayed a laid back individual and his relaxed posture already told the woman that she had nothing to fear from him. His green oxford shirt had a couple of wrinkles at the top and his stomach had a slight paunch to it. A rich brown belt encircled the lower part of his belly and snugged khakis which ended in black dress shoes.

"Hello there. You must be Ms. Hutchinson."

"Yes. And you are?"

"My name is Andrew Rayson, but just call me Drew." He stuck out his hand, which she shook firmly, "I work with a private company that is concerned with the affairs of the human elite relations on Eudemon. If you are willing, I would like to ask some questions."

Most of the time, it was journalists and reporters that had come to interview her. They swarmed the hallways all with a maze of microphones and recorders to be played in an exaggeration back to the news stations. Since he had no recording devices that were visible to her, she obliged, opening the door to allow him inside.

Hutchinson's apartment was small, but the eccentric décor made the flawed size seem like no issue at all. The couch was a rich violet and Drew would've stretched out at the spot she wanted him to sit to make himself at home if this had been his own room aboard _Ballista_.

"Do you want anything to drink?"

"Water would be fine."

She poured two tall glasses from a pitcher in the white fridge before coming back. Her kitchen was clean, having to be downsized. A wood counter was covered by a glass top at the back. A large square hole cut inside housed the four burner thermal energy stove.

"The reason I came to you is because I believe that your ex-husband may be in great danger. He's been stirring up trouble on Eudemon between already shaky relations of the UNSC and elite colonists."

"He's never really liked the elites." Jane replied, "Ever since one of them killed our son, he's been quite vocal against the alliance."

"That may be true, but it's in the past. Now the elites have a similar bloody conflict that started five years ago and it's still ongoing. It's a mutual grudge that carries on even after thirty-five years of brutal wars. On Eudemon, the elite rulers, you do know what they're called right?"

Jane nodded, "Kaidons."

"That's right." Drew had to hand it to her for knowing something the average human didn't. "What we believe is that the kaidons on the moon are forming a massive alliance against humanity. If the worst comes to worst, they will strike first and I don't want that to happen."

"I don't understand how I fit into this."

Drew's eyes didn't betray what he was asking, "I need you to tell me what Covalus is planning. All of his hatred to the elites is boiling up and it'll reach a peak. I need to know what that peak is. He's creating a war and it'll involve massive casualties on both sides if it erupts."

"Ash was very secretive, especially from me and Robert. What I did know was that he planned to somehow bomb their homeworld in an attack to prevent them from being a threat again."

"Jane, the Office of Naval Intelligence is now buried up to their chests in elite blood. They pretty much instigated the civil war. Why? I don't know, probably to keep them from being a threatening power to humanity, but as of yet, they've failed. If anything, we should be the ones concerned about doing damage elsewhere. Hit the wrong thing and suddenly, we're the genocidal monsters."

"My company has been called to Eudemon to help quell all of this tension. We've taught both sides on policing and stemming the conflict as best they can. While we've done a fine job at this, it's become apparent that the peacekeeping isn't the problem. Someone is mapping all of these disasters on both sides and we believe Covalus is that someone."

"You have no right to believe that!" Jane suddenly stood upright, her voice suddenly cold enough to freeze the water in her glass. "As much as he plans to hit them, he doesn't have the rescources!"

Normally someone else would have bolted too, but Drew instead fished for his datapad and scrolled through a couple of things before showing the screen again.

The image displayed from Aegis' helmet camera showed the moment where Covalus was swinging the machete. Although not a single elite was in the picture, the message got to her immediately.

Drew sipped his water as Jane observed again, "Ash Covalus hired a mercenary to break into the Spartan-IV armory at Reach to steal augmentation drugs and a suit of MJOLNIR armor. He is now in possession of equipment that's almost as dangerous as a nuke. With the armor and some basic UNSC training, he will be able to kill anything that crosses his path. Luckily, the person who recorded this is still alive, thanks to a zipline that he used to get in. He's injured from both the fight and fall, but now confirms that Covalus has something up his sleeve. It's only a matter of time before tragedy strikes and a full blown war makes its way to Eudemon."

"Have you looked to the elites for any sabotage either?"

"I doubt that the kaidons would have anything, as they know that any aggressive action will surely kick them off. One particular kaidon our company has visited comes from a near dead lineage and has hopes to rebuild. Now we did find a sangheili supremist order called the Vahkai, whom have been in existence for hundreds of years. The Vahkai are fiercely supportive of their home kaidon, but that doesn't mean they're off the hook."

"So what will happen if we go to war with the Eudemon elites?"

"The kaidons have already established their alliance together and have a substantial military force of nearly a hundred thousand troops. Added to the many Vahkai who will side with them, the UNSC is badly outmatched, even with Spartans. I don't doubt that right now, the kaidons are already planning attack strategies. So far, we don't know if they have any ships, but the task will be harder for humanity if they reveal a hidden navy."

Silence descended over the two of them for a minute. For Drew, the news wasn't surprising.

"As you can tell, a war would be devastating for an already shaky economy. The Covenant sides aren't faring any better, but a war will just make it a hell of a lot worse. Covalus is clearly a player in this game he's playing and if we're going to halt the next conflict, we need you to tell us the rules so he can be beaten at his own game."

"Okay." She sighed, "I'll help any way I can."

"Good." Drew drained the rest of his water, "Because if you can't, I'm not sure anyone will be."

* * *

**Drew's been out of the scope for a while, so this is what he's been doing. Something's goin down and it ain't good!**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing everyone, you give my writing purpose.**


	18. Horizon II

**State of Talam, Eudemon**

**September 19, 2558**

Akuo Talam let out a sigh as he finished his drink. The tolls from the past days have been finally beginning to wear out the leader. Both he and Vaal had met behind his favorite bar close to the Talam capital's city centre.

Unlike Sanghelios, the Talam state's city center of Second Thansan, named after the final metro area where the Talam lineage remained. Second Thansan had a small cluster of skyscrapers that spiked into the skyline and could faintly be seen from the human side through the shimmering waves of September heat. In contrast to the dark colors usually associated with the Covenant, the buildings were a shiny white, surrounded by blue lights inside that were a sight to behold when darkness fell. Had the colors been the dark ones, they might have not been able to survive the onslaught.

On the ground level, sangheili of all ages bustled throughout their tasks. The culture on Second Thansan had drastically changed how some others viewed them. Of course, long traditions like a military oriented warrior lifestyle was in place, but now they were beginning to embrace what a human life was. The skyscrapers now had businesses of mercantilism and commerce. In the shade of the skyline, a wide variety of cuisine was available, from native dishes to their homeworld to knock offs of some human foods that some of the youth had taken a liking to.

Akuo was never someone to associate with a large metropolis and neither was his older brother. However, he was willing to do anything for the people and stay in a place where his Talam heritage could thrive. Eudemon wasn't his prime choice, but it was better than war torn Sanghelios, Hesduros or Tronaos.

"I formed the SASE this morning." He informed him, "Every kaidon has now pledged to support one another in the event of an attack, human or otherwise."

"You're very interesting brother." Vaal laid a hand on his younger sibling's shoulder. "Although you may not be known as the founder of the New Covenant, I believe for peace to be ensured is cooperation for defense."

"It's odd, considering that the humans had formed the UNSC on a similar principle."

"Indeed. Started in nineteen forty five. After one of the their greatest conflicts, they established an international security alliance to ensure world peace. Throughout the years later, their work helped stem conflicts for years before establishing the UNSC. The UN means united nations."

"Look, I need to know if I'm doing what's right." Vaal's brother had moments where he was worried to no end if he failed or made a wrong move. The weight of that had always been put on his shoulder, not just because he was considered weaker than most younglings, but also due to his poor performance in college. Sovl Talam hadn't taken the title of college master just yet, but remained as one of the department heads and was well into being considered to be Mdau Talam's successor. Already several teachers had deemed Akuo as "unworthy" to serve the gods. However, this made the kaidon a patient and more cautious warrior. His arum took the longest out of the four siblings to solve, but the reward was the largest gemstone. His newfound trait allowed him into the military at last, serving with what honor he could.

"All of your elders are willing to stand by you. You now have the support of the kaidons of the neighboring states. Sure, it may be an act of aggression towards humanity, but you're strengthening your ties. You're not the first to have made difficult decisions like this and you most certainly won't be the last."

"That's what brings me to my next point." Akuo waved for the bartender to give him another drink. He offered to Vaal, who politely declined. "While we are aware that this Covalus is after me because I killed his son, I think there's more to the picture."

Akuo tilted his head back when the cup arrived, savoring the strong liquid as it seeped down his mouth. "We have reasons to believe that Sovl Talam and his Vahkai are involved as well."

"Sovl Talam?"

"This shouldn't have taken you by surprise."

"Yet I am here awaiting your explanation."

"The Vahkai are currently spiking in activity near a planet thought to have been glassed years ago." Akuo unrolled a small stellar map from a pouch in his armor. Much different than human maps, the projector illuminated the entire bar with a brilliant blue light. Patrons glanced for a few moments, but returned to whatever they had been doing. That was likely because of the kaidon's bodyguard observing them from the front, leaning on the doorside.

"Imbel Alpha." Vaal whispered, the room suddenly darkening. He looked up as if disturbed by something; concern was etched on his face when he strode over to a table beside a window. Ignoring the irritated looks on the two occupants, he slid back the covering and peered outside.

The darkness came from a massive blanked of black matter. Vaal already knew what was happening.

"Everybody, out!"

Most of the patrons looked confused, none dared to move.

"That black mass is a plague of destruction. When it touches you, it multiplies and doesn't stop until you're dead! We need to get as far away as possible."

Vaal and Akuo led the way outside, where nothing had touched the ground yet, but many others were taking shelter under canopies.

"We need to issue a mass evacuation of the city."

The kaidon's bodyguard came up, "Yes." He removed a small canister and spoke into it, "Urgent message to all military personnel. This is an emergency. Second Thansan is under attack! Evacuate everyone to our emergency shelters!"

As Vaal led the others down the street, he heard a chorus of engines and the city came alive with phantoms, banshees and spirits as the military took over. It amazed him that a society that had always been under martial law performed emergency tasks so effective. While the disasters were far different than Sanghelios, the people always knew the military was the top and usually they had good reason.

The microbot swarms blanketed the tips of the skyscrapers and began creeping down as if stricken with a plague. Then just like drops from an icicle, bits of the graphite separated and splashed down, settling and spreading yet again.

One drop had landed nearby and quickly advanced towards the party. Akuo continued growling at the others to come with him while Vaal and the kaidon bodyguard stood their ground.

The other elite fired four shots from his plasma pistol. The hot plasma made contact, instantly incinerating any microbots caught in the blast. At first, they burned holes into the ground, seemingly defeated, but then began multiplying again, this time much slower.

"It's still coming." The guard whispered in awe.

"Unfortunately yes." Vaal turned to him, "We need to delay the spread of this infestation before the entire city is lost. I need you to head to the areas yet to be attacked to get them back to your evacuation zones."

"But in the other areas, there are still beings trapped."

Sadly, Vaal lowered his head in somber, "There's nothing we can do for them, but we must save those who can be saved."

The guard shifted his mandibles but the shuffled off to the areas close to the looming swarms.

"Wait!" Vaal called after him. "I need what armaments you can spare for me. I will try and delay the advance."

The guard tossed him a plasma pistol and two grenades. Although not a whole lot of destruction, he knew a potential way to do some serious harm and delay the inevitable. Vaal ran in the opposite direction, occasionally passing a few others that stayed put. They were on their way to the evacuation zone shortly after his coaxing with the gun.

His destination was across the street inside a large purple box that stretched twelve feet up and thirty feet wide and deep. The lock at the front had been busted so he shot it off with his pistol. He hefted the door with his incredible strength, straining to remove the front. He had made it, the bluish purple wraith tank sat inside; the main vehicle of the Covenant Empire, the wraith was nicknamed such as you got one good look at it before it made you one.

Working his way to the back of the vehicle, Vaal held down the trigger of his pistol and releasing the bolt so that the EMP blast temporarily disabled the secondary functions. Just like he intended, the engine port was easily visible to him, giving him the opportunity to slide in one of the plasma explosives.

The vehicle overrode the blast when he settled himself in the cockpit, taking a moment to familiarize himself with the controls. This was one of the older models, the one that halted production right during the Great Schism. Made by Assembly Forges, this tank's mortar was the more powerful of the two, but sacrificed the accuracy for the sheer force. In addition, only one operator was needed to exploit the full functions of the vehicle, the dual plasma guns on the side could be fired by him to deal with smaller targets. The later models would need two; one to drive and fire the main gun and the other to man the secondary plasma turret seated just behind the driver.

Vaal eased the vehicle out of the container, turning to face the oncoming plague. The tide was advancing quicker than he expected, now clinging to the walls of the structures and beginning to smother it as the microbots continued to multiply.

"These would make the parasite look like amateurs." He muttered, twisting the throttle and disabling the tank's safeties.

As he switched on the main gun, a trio of green explosions impacted at the front of the wave. Vaal pivoted his camera, watching as the banshees performed an upward flip and then dived down, releasing another salvo in a fruitless effort.

The mortar fired an enormous streak of white liquid sun. It impacted somewhat behind the front vaporizing countless microbots. Putting the tank's power source to the weapons, he charged the mortars and plasma autos on full, trying to destroy as much of the ancient human defense system as possible. It would only last so long though, as now he had been cornered on the edges of the LZ. The only thing that prevented him from retreating even further was a river of deep blue water.

With the help of the three banshees, Vaal continued to partake in the losing battle against the microbots. The mortar was highly effective, but the spread would just be slowed down. The secondary plasma guns would kick up a splash and burn through what it had impacted.

Warning lights suddenly began flashing as Vaal attempted to compensate. The repulsors engines in the left side had begun faltering due to microbot expansion that was inside when Vaal was firing. His time was now cut even shorter as the wraith sluggishly stopped over the edge between the canal.

Vaal opened the front hatch and climbed out. At the rate the horde was coming, he would be swarmed in less than thirty seconds.

Working fast, he ducked back inside, using a stick to hold down the firing controls for the secondary plasma cannons. They flashed to life, barraging tiny chips away. It was still useless; the tide now began to coat the front wings of the tank, making a sound that resembled metal scraping against metal.

Having done all the he could, Vaal backed up to the single area where the microbots had yet to converge upon. With nobody to come aid him, he was faced with the choice that most sangheili would easily choose.

"No. I will not go out." Dying under a swarm of miniscule killer robots was not honorable at all. The only thing worse would be succumbing to the parasite. "Not like this."

Of course, he could always take the easy way out. He lit the second plasma grenade, tossing it at the closest area. The detonation echoed throughout the street as part of the wraith's armor exploded off, flinging parts several meters away. They landed in the sea of microbots and were swarmed within two seconds.

"Very well." Vaal was now out of options. He turned the pistol around, pressing the two pronged muzzle to the side of his head.

Just when he was about to squeeze the trigger, he felt himself encased in a blinding green light. Looking up, he saw that a lich ship had found him. The massive hulk lifted him up just as he was about to commit suicide.

Aiming carefully as he rose, the bots had nearly converged on the power source. Where he stood seconds ago was now swarming. He fired a single shot at the engine, hoping that the horde would burn through his shot.

Right before entering the lift, he saw the wraith explode in a brilliant white light. His aim was spot-on. The shot had detonated the plasma grenade he stuffed inside earlier which set off the explosive reaction, dealing a massive blow to the microbots.

Vaal collapsed once he hit the lower deck of the massive transport. Looking out, he saw that every skyscraper was now completely covered in silvery graphite. It was the scene straight out of a horror movie. He looked at his rescuer, the kaidon's bodyguard who nodded at him. Cramped around the main cabin were many civilians, all had concerned looks on their faces.

"We're good." The bodyguard shouted to the pilot, "Take us out of here."

As the lich accelerated to safety, nobody caught the four thin white wisps higher in the sky heading back to the human side of the moon.

* * *

**What an epic escape!**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing everyone! You give my writing purpose.**


	19. Horizon III

**UNSC Ballista orbiting Eudemon**

**September 20, 2558**

"I guess Covalus just played his next move."

Trip Aegis found his fist slowly tightening when he saw the giant blanket of silvery nanobots covering Second Thansan and Akuo Talam's keep. The death toll had to number high, many were caught off guard and died within seconds of the attack. Viewing the carnage was reminiscent of the horrid grand disasters, although nowhere near this devastating.

"I think that the death toll would've been much higher if it weren't for the aid of the fellow elite states." Drew added.

"The media's gone crazy and the other kaidons haven't taken it too well. If we're going to stop the conflict we need to do it now."

The observation deck was crowded with Blades members as they gaped at the mass destruction that had all occurred within just an hour. It was clean enough to say that it was no natural catastrophe. No smoke rose from any buildings and the air above remained crisp, well devoid of any microbots that may have been airborne. Like a wall, the microbots had just formed a straight perimeter at the edge of the human side.

"I'm curious on where Covalus got his hands on a weapon like this, if he's the one to blame." Drew questioned. "Did Tyler or Riley get some more research on our WMD?"

"We sure did." Both Trip and Drew whirled around to see a grinning Danny. He handed them his datapad, "It's a special technology that the ancient humans, the ones at war with the forerunners utilized in a variety of cases. There's really no name for it and the first use was several years before engaging the prometheans as a means to cure diseases, reverse climate effects, hell this stuff could've been an easy answer to many of our problems years ago."

"But what does it exactly do?"

"The microbots basically destroy stuff like you can imagine. In addition, their reproduction, which is done asexually, can also be varied in case they get too far out of hand. They're programmed to destroy certain things and leave others unscathed. Covalus' strain is likely programmed to destroy anything and multiply at the fastest rate. Needless to say, his weapon is virtually unstoppable."

"You said virtually." Trip knew what was coming next.

"Bigger guns win wars boss man." Tyler took the datapad and scrolled it down, "I talked with some of my friends who attended the Pegasi Institute Archaeological section and they've agreed with me that a large WMD would be suitable to wipe out most of the microbots."

"C'mon Tyler, you're talking about nuking the homeland of Vaal's brother."

"I wasn't talking about that, to reverse something like what's fucking Talam, I have no clue on how to solve. However, I think whatever is at Imbel Alpha, where we spotted this first will have a key to our answers."

"Imbel Alpha's off limits." Drew countered, "The UNSC already has a blockade in effect to ward off venturers."

"Yet this Sovl Talam and his Vahkai are still seeming to have operations."

Trip's comlink chirped, "Commander."

"Leah here, we've got an emergency transmission hailing us at Juliet Victor Tango nine oh six."

"Answer that right now!" Trip's heart now hammered in his chest. Before Drew even realized what was happening, the commander had been out of the observation deck, sprinting across the hallways back to the bridge.

* * *

Vaal Talam sat next to Akuo's vacant seat as his younger brother informed the other kaidons of what fully happened. Their faces went from shock to complete outrage.

"Did the sovereign human government acknowledge that they did this act of war?" Vaal asked. Despite his distrusts with the UNSC, he did not believe that they would attack without warning.

"They have gone dark. Unfortunately, I believe that the threat message sender was responsible."

"So." One of the kaidons interrupted. He was the largest of them all, towering a full head over Vaal. "War against the humans would be costly, not to mention we'd be the losing side."

"I'm fully aware of that." Akuo gestured to Vaal, "While we might be superior in strength and firepower, we don't have enough warriors compared to the quick response reinforcements they have. My older brother here and his team are trying to find the root of the cause and destroy it."

"Any leads so far?"

"The person who is attempting to kill Akuo is named Covalus. He's a multibillionaire tycoon in software security and networking. Years ago, Akuo killed his son, so this is a game of revenge." The older Talam sibling explained.

"A dangerous game too." The kaidon added, "What are our options? Have we sent anyone to take him out?"

"It would be considered an act of war on our behalf." Vaal answered, "Which brings me to my other point. The Vahkai."

The large frame belonging to the kaidon shifted as he scoffed, "They are nothing but a myth and folklore."

"They are real. Very real." Vaal stood, "It is rumored that they are lead by my former mentor Sovl Talam and they are collaborating with Covalus for our eviction off Eudemon."

"They're both supremacists, but I'm confused on why the latter hasn't done anything about it."

"Vaal, can your team investigate Sovl's activities at this Imbel Alpha?"

He shook his head, "Again, the UNSC is monitoring for activity which they so far have reported nothing." Quickly finding his second phrase, he rebounded their suspicious looks, "Sometimes we get missions for the UNSC as well."

"Then he's obviously operating in the dark." Akuo stood to end the meeting, "Although we have yet to start a war, I want our Prime Warriors to begin strategizing attack plans." Prime Warrior was the title that replaced Zealot following the end of the war.

"Vaal, if you can't find anything to stop this madness, then I fear the worst." A dark look was in his eyes. As much of a warrior as he was, heading to war was the last thing he wanted.

"Me too brother." Vaal had to inform Trip as quickly as possible, "Me too."

* * *

"This will never work." Aegis rolled his eyes when pressing the buttons with his free hand to make the call. His left side was covered in a huge white bandage after Inselton had taken out the giant shrapnel in his shoulder. Strangely, it wasn't painful at all. A large screen dominated his office at the opposite end and he spent the next minute watching the bar shrink and expand as it awaited the person on the other hand to answer.

"Of course it will." Vaal placed a hand on the Spartan's shoulder, "If not, then I can show you another of my thousand ways to make people talk."

The screen showed a connecting text and instantly the person on the other line was drowned out with a loud roar alongside a chorus of voices overlapping one another. Onscreen, there was a flurry of dark objects whizzing by in the white light.

A moment later, the smiling face of Rachel Morand appeared on screen.

"Trip!" She exclaimed, super excited to see him.

"Hello Rachel." Aegis couldn't suppress his captivating grin which made her cheeks deepen their red color.

"It's so great to see you! Sorry about the noise, I'm on the monorail back to my apartment."

"That's alright. If you want, I can call later."

"Oh no it's fine!" She pulled a lock of blonde hair out of her face, "You obviously didn't call because of a personal matter."

That had Trip and Vaal exchanging odd glances, "No, we actually need your help. Does the Office of Naval Intelligence have a ship capable of executing jumps in atmosphere?"

"Maybe, I wouldn't know. Why?"

Trip sighed, "We've got a possible way to investigate Vahkai activities in Imbel Alpha, but we're gonna need ONI's help."

"Alright. I'll see what a civilian government aide like myself can do." She smiled again, making an effort to show off seemingly flawless teeth, "You owe me though."

"Oh great." Trip muttered sarcastically, loud enough for only him and Vaal to hear. Debts were things he rarely ever did, whether someone owed him or he owed somebody. There was only a few that he did favors for in that manner. "What do I owe you?"

She grinned again, "A date."

* * *

**I think too many women want Commander Aegis to go out with them on a date.**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing everyone! You give my writing purpose.**


	20. Horizon IV

**UNSC **_**Rocket's Red Glare**_

**September 21, 2558**

Captain Renner rubbed his temple as he poured himself bourbon from his native New Orleans. After orders from codename Adamant to transfer a civilian named Rachel Morand to a place in the middle of nowhere, his senses were wearing down along with his patience. Displaying similar traits were his crew. He longed for the time lurking around hostiles without a trace of detection performing spy work and intelligence gathering.

"We are now at our destination."

"Thank you Monroe." Renner stood to his full six foot two size and left his quarters to the bridge. He was a solid built well decorated ship commander. Although he served for the final five years during the war against the mighty Covenant, he was always observing and never directly engaged them.

The UNSC_ Rocket's Red Glare _was one of the first prowler-class stealth corvettes to be outfitted with the newer slipspace drive that allowed jumps to be performed in atmosphere. Although the act was still considered dangerous, many safeties were in place and such should only be used in an emergency. The bridge was relatively quiet, save for the essential stations on watch. Rachel Morand sat in the executive officer's chair while the XO himself was in the command seat.

Lieutenant Commander Freeman stood up, allowing Renner to take his seat. "Sorry Captain, she wouldn't give hers up."

"No worries. Head back to your quarters and shower up. I'll take it from here."

As Freeman left, Renner addressed Morand. She had dark blue athletic pants and a gray jacket that draped over her upper torso. Although Renner had a wife and a son, he was still captivated by her beauty that was in her long golden hair and eyes. No doubt, she'd have many men of the Navy and Marines swooning over her had she been on a standard UNSC ship.

"We have arrived at our destination. Who are you meeting, your boyfriend?"

"You'll see Captain."

A minute ticked by when the comms officer waved them over, "We're being hailed on the private channel." It was rare that ONI ships would talk to someone else on the private channel unless vital to the mission, so being hailed on that frequency startled Renner.

"UNSC _Rocket's Red Glare_, this is the _Ballista_. Do you copy over?"

"_Ballista_, this is the captain of the _Rocket's Red Glare_. You are within the vicinity of classified ONI activity. I'm going to have to ask you to turn back."

"No it's okay." Rachel smiled slightly when Trip responded, "We can stay."

"_Ballista_, this is your last warning. Leave now or I will be forced to open fire on your ship."

"Then you risk ruining the operation. Thanks for verifying that you're a friendly." Trip gestured for Danny to decloak the stealth frigate. Renner and Rachel gasped as the hexagonal plates lit up, collapsing a bubble around a massive frigate. Easily twice as long as her ONI counterpart, the _Ballista_'s ugly appearance of rusted paint and negligence set off some of the officers observing.

"A rust bucket as a stealth ship?" The weapons officer looked around, "I must be dreaming."

Rachel only heard of Trip's personal ship from what Adamant reluctantly leaked from her briefing. Being an ex-ONI agent, he was bound to have some resources far better that what he presented. A scan of the ship revealed much of it blocked out, no doubt some cover for secretive tasks.

"Be advised, we are dispatching a pelican to deploy our operatives for this." A different voice was now manning the communications.

"We copy _Ballista_. Good to see you here."

Five minutes later, the pelican curved around the far side of the ship, the pilot complying with every direction that the controller onboard the prowler had directed.

Captain Renner was already in the hangar when the dropship touched down. The engines kept their whining constant and she lifted out once the two occupants disembarked.

The captain stepped up, "Captain Renner of the UNSC _Rocket's Red Glare_. Pleasure to meet you." He stuck his hand out to the human.

"Trip Aegis." He shook it with a grin, "Master of the _Ballista_ and leader of the Blades. Thank you for having us onboard."

Renner held back and simply gave a curt nod towards Vaal Talam. "I'm guessing you have already met Miss Morand. Follow me, I'll show you to your quarters."

Like many prowlers Aegis had been on, the _Rocket's Red Glare_ had small confined spaces and the ceiling barely above his head. Vaal Talam was unfortunate enough to have to constantly hunch over.

Both of them were given rooms right next to Rachel's and they headed to the more spacious bridge where Vaal could finally relax and stand erect. If the bridge crew felt any discomfort of an elite on the control room, they didn't show it. Trip admired at how they continued to keep their cold composed nature even when things got weirder by the events.

"Were you informed of what we are doing?" Aegis asked.

Renner nodded, "We're planning to execute our jump here to Imbel Alpha and dropping in through the atmosphere. Fortunately, I'll have the stealth coating on so anything abnormal with the UNSC blockade won't pop up with FLEETCOM. We'll exit slipspace at the far end of the planet to minimize the slipspace activity."

"And then we'll have to do is then drop Vaal and myself off and standby for extraction."

"Correct." The captain looked a little more perplexed, "What about the rest of your team?"

"They're going to rid this world of the silver swarms with a Covenant WMD."

"I see. Then once you've finished your discovery, I suggest we get the hell out."

"I'd say that's a good idea." Trip agreed, "Unless we all want to be a cluster of atomized bits."

A few hours later, the _Rocket's Red Glare_ had transitioned and jumped out of slipspace. The process being monitored by three navigation officers as to ensure that the jump out landed correctly in atmosphere without a sign of error.

In atmospheric jumps were highly risky, first performed by the AI Cortana following the events of the first Halo discovery. Her legendary partner, the Master Chief and a small band of survivors had captured a Covenant flagship investigating the ruins of the ring when he had destroyed it. The slipspace generator had been disabled and the Chief had volunteered to retake it. It was a difficult task, as his armor was malfunctioning and didn't have any active shielding. By the time he had finished the repairs, the ship _Ascendant Justice_ had plunged into the gas giant Threshold, far too deep to be recovered. Spartan-117 had comforted Cortana, having full confidence and told her to attempt a jump.

She did, successfully initiating the first slipspace transition inside a planet's atmosphere. However, a Covenant equivalent had retrieved the process from her, informing the high ranking officials of the navy. The Prophet of Regret would later use this tactic to make a hasty escape that nearly wiped New Mombasa off the map of Earth.

Since the end of the war, slipspace jumps inside the atmosphere were rarely used. The UNSC made it illegal unless no other option was available. Even then, only certain certified naval vessels were allowed to do them in exercises.

"Head on a bearing of one zero five and reduce altitude by a thousand." Renner sat back down in the captain's seat with his two occupants beside him. The captain had only been able to sleep for three of the hours in slipspace. Faint dark circles were around his eyes, but they maintained a crisp vigilance that most ONI spooks had. His uniform had some wrinkles meaning that he had retreated to his cabin and didn't bother to change clothes. It was rare to see any employee of ONI to have their colors short of pristine.

Trip and Vaal had already dressed in their armor and made their way down. Unlike his standard harness, Vaal was simply dressed in the underarmor. He was planning to do more damage on the inside if he found the Vahkai facilities. If not, then the camo generator he strapped on along with the T-52 Beam Rifle was enough to kill from afar and a T-1 Plasma Rifle backup. For good measure, he had brought portable spare batteries, an item that vastly confused the UNSC on how to replenish the Covenant's battery powered weapons.

Captain Renner wasn't present at the hangar bay when they arrived, but executive officer Freeman, Morand and the pedestal showing a hologram of the United States of America's fifth president were present.

"All set?" The AI asked.

Freeman nodded, showing the duo to the edge, "Affirmative. Open the back hatch."

A whining sound filled the hangar as air rushed in from several thousand feet up. The sky outside was gray thanks to the microbots swarming in the atmosphere which made everything look black and white. Even Trip's green Pathfinder helmet with its bright red Solar visor seemed to lose its sheen and vivid colors.

"Time on target ten seconds." Monroe reminded them.

If Rachel was surprised at Trip being a Spartan, she never showed it. The fact that putting duty before personal matters especially during a mission was what he truly admired in anybody, but like all people, sometimes the order had to be switched.

"Good-" She stopped mid sentence as he placed a gloved finger to her lips.

"We don't believe in luck." Vaal chuckled at this. It was a thing that the Blades shared, an odd superstition about wishing one another luck on an op.

"It's an ONI thing."

Aegis met up with Vaal at the edge, where the larger sangheili had secured his pack and let himself fall off. While he had done drops in orbital insertion pods, this High altitude jump was another different thrill. Adrenaline flooded his body as he freefell thousands of feet above the gray surface of Imbel Alpha.

Rachel watched as Trip began a running stride, swinging his arms upward to propel himself out of the ship. He seemed to just jump slightly forward and then disappeared into the night.

* * *

**What will they find? Hordes of microbots? Vahkai assassins? Or something worse?**

**Thank you for reading and reviewing. You give my writing purpose.**


	21. Horizon V

**Somewhere on Imbel Alpha, Slater System**

**September 21, 2013**

Checking the clock for the tenth time in the last four minutes, Trip Aegis still was aghast that it was only two in the afternoon; it might as well have been twelve hours earlier.

The drop on the surface of Imbel Alpha was uneventful, Trip and Vaal experienced jet lag from the whole trip inside and set up camp. With what little firewood they found, he lit it with his lighter and they boiled two cups of water to hydrate their powdered MREs.

The fire crackled as they sat in their shelter, a small cave that was close to several others. As far as the eye could see, it was gray. Only the fire's glow provided any alternative color, a flickering dark orange glow to contrast his seemingly colorblind vision.

The microbot swarms stayed in the sky, unmoving. The multiple wind currents still remained as the sun ignored their interference. They still blocked out any life sustaining heat that the Slater star had provided.

"The _Rocket's Red Glare_ had provided a quick scan of the general area." Trip outlined, "Seems as if they're right, there appears to be slight movements about two klicks to our west."

"Could they tell if it's the Vahkai?"

"No, but our best bet on how to deactivate the sky swarms is there. The prowler's performing separate scans of the rest of the planet and they'd inform us if they caught anything. So far, nothing to report."

"Maybe they have." Vaal urged on, "These nano things could be a barrier to any signal."

Something froze in Aegis' mind. "What?"

"These nano things could be a barrier to any signal."

If his suspicions were correct, then they'd already been had. "Elaborate."

"Just like any thick barrier when someone tries to, you know, make a call. It's hard, the reception is bad."

"Then we better limit what we call, unless the stakes demand it."

"Why's that?"

"If Sovl or Covalus both have microbots under their control by stations or whatever, it's safe to say that they can pick up signals as well and translate their location to the controller. I don't think it transmits the details, you'd need a direct tap for that."

"That would mean our location may be compromised."

"Maybe." Trip stood up, "Not if we deter our first friends." Reaching into one of his utility pouches on his hip, he removed two long devices. The silver lining ended at a spiked tip which he used his foot to push into the soft soil on the ground. He then staked the second one in a boulder about twenty feet out from the cave's entrance.

"Taser IED." He explained, "Observes approaching signatures by tags. Friendly tags make it stay put, but a hostile signature…" He flicked his fingers about. "Hehe, they're in for a shocking surprise."

"Very funny." Vaal rolled his eyes, "I just hope that both of us are marked as friendlies."

"No shit." He flicked a pin on the charge's top. "Who the hell do you think planted them?"

**Six hours later**

The fire was now just a dark orange pile of embers, which the duo stomped out until just ashes remained in the spot. Trip took a lookout while Vaal prepared the supplies so that they could hike out.

This was one of the scenarios where he wanted nothing more than to be at the bridge of his beloved _Ballista_, making way through the wide frontiers of space. The one thing he hated the most was being away from her for a long time. The bleak gray surroundings did little to improve his mood. Truly. the ship was his love, pride and joy.

Neither of the Taser charges had gone off which meant that nobody found them. Trip had kept the pins with him in case they could be reused. They were his only nonlethal option, making good alternatives for the flashbangs. He retrieved his armament, an M57 PDW which was only limited to Spartan-IVs, ODSTs and select other special forces. Holding fifty rounds that shredded shields and armor at most distances, the weapon was relatively new. It was only his second time using the gun, the first being a War Games simulation. Hopefully it would prove just as trustworthy and reliable as it did before. If not, he always had his A9 and the suppressor fitted onto the barrel.

The hike remained silent, trudging through forests of bare trees, whose skeletal remains rose into the sky with a sinewy appearance. The vegetation crumbled underneath their feet and the large dark patches of glass in the distance remained as a strong reminder of the alien war machine who originally sealed the colony's fate years ago. This was a planet that was truly dead.

"I sure as hell don't want to be buried here."

"Same." Vaal replied. There wasn't much else for him to say, a lot was on his mind other than their mission. Trip had known Vaal for years, before the war had ended in his time as a Spartan-IV, but the latter hadn't been officially in mind for the Blades until he started them in late 2553.

Passing the forest, Trip who was on point, stopped and held up a fist making his left palm flat to signal their drop. Both of them lay to the ground and began crawling. Their HUDs lit up with three contacts ahead and moving to their position. The blips were at first unidentifiable, but then got closer, forming into a trio of banshees. The fliers whined as they passed over, continuing their patrol.

"Why would they have patrols?"

"Members seemingly of the Vahkai always said that a predator like them must always remain vigilant and ready." Vaal responded.

"I think that's a false sense of security."

Continuing on, they reached a large cliff face where the area below featured the first non-natural building Trip saw since his arrival. The Covenant citadel was massive, among the largest he had ever seen during his time as an ONI spy. It resembled more of Talam Keep rather than a military base, but the mass of activity around it was much more of a martial arm. The spire in the center rose eighty feet in height, surrounded by smaller structures, for housing Vahkai equipment and warriors. To the right of the compound, there were three massive pens, one of them holding a lich carrier inside. Nearby were rows of banshees and four phantoms. The air wings of the Vahkai.

Then that's when they heard the voices. A long slur of growls and gibberish came from the path to their left. Then colored lights began to appear, zigzagging to the left and right as the weapon lights were moving from the elite's arm motions.

"You ready?" Trip gave his own sangheili friend a nudge.

"As I'll ever be."

With a loud yell, Trip dove into his partner, aiming his automatic off to the side and squeezing a few rounds. Vaal let out a growl as he "fought" his attacker. He finally managed to get a foothold and toss him off, where he fired his plasma rifle several times.

Trip's shields flashed as they absorbed the plasma and he strafed, returning fire.

The elite patrol of three had arrived by now and began asking Vaal of what had happened. Trip laid down some more fire with his M57, the muzzle flash outlining his figure for the elites to shoot back. Two of them let off a flurry of autofire from plasma rifles to keep him suppressed.

As he was about to raise his weapon again, Trip heard the sound of something snapping and knew it was his queue. Rushing over, he took on the second elite, swinging a kick to his legs that sent him into his partner. He drew his A9 and put two muffled shots into their breached armor, piercing skulls before they could react in time.

Just like they anticipated, one of the elites had a communication device that was filled with more of the sangheili language. Knowing his part, Vaal began stripping the armor off of the one that had been least damaged and placing it at his respective self. Trip parted with a wave and slid down the cliffside by the time the reinforcements had arrived at Vaal's location, where he would conduct a fruitless search away from the fortress. Trip would then be inside to try and figure out the controls for the microbots and stop their swarm. The halt of their operation would expose anything the Vahkai were attempting to hide.

The interior halls of the massive citadel were just like any ordinary Covenant styled corridor. Purple here and there with sensor activated doors with open sights. A highly difficult place to maneuver without getting spotted and even when Covenant troops weren't there, it was always the sensors that gave position away. The active camo module helped at hiding and it didn't take long to recharge, but finding a place to lurk was difficult for him. Patrols of the interior were frequent, given that most of them were on a hunting party. He suddenly wished that he had traded Active Camo for a module of Promethean Vision. The miracle eye, dubbed by Spartan IVs, had the ability to see through walls and spot enemies, weapons, vehicles and points of interest on their HUD. The downside was that it drained battery even faster than the Active Camo.

Things began to change when he neared what seemed to be a detention area. Just like when he was onboard a CCS cruiser, the blocks were arranged on either side with the controls to the doors at the far back. The doors glowed a ghostly blue and prevented anyone from escaping, despite it actually being thin air between the sides.

Two elites were standing in front of the farthest cell to the right side. One of them, decorated in maroon armor of a zealot seemingly gloated over whatever prisoner was inside. The second one was blue armored and stood a ways back, plasma rifle in hand.

When they finished, both elites walked towards the exit. Trip finally got a full first look at Sovl Talam and one of his Vahkai bodyguards.

They spoke to each other in their native tongue as they passed his hiding place. The camo had yet to regenerate and the shadowy place provided much dark cover for him to escape their detection. It was fairly simple. The Vahkai were so alert to patrols outside the compound, there was nothing to fear inside their citadel. Sovl and his gunman didn't even glance his way.

Trip was certain when they left, crossed the room and deactivated the cell blocks. Sprinting over to the one Sovl had stood in front of; he was initially surprised, moving forward to the unconscious man slumped on the floor in a cream colored suit.

* * *

**Surprise! What is a human doing out here?!**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing! You give my writing purpose.**


	22. Finale I

**The Vahkai Imbel Alpha facility**

**September 21, 2558**

"Ambassador Beech?" Trip was still taken back from the politician's appearance. Aside from the wearing on his clothes from being the only set that was aboard the shuttle, he appeared unharmed. The visual part was physical, Trip had no idea how much they had tortured his mind.

Beech stirred, his eyes opening to see a fully armored Spartan towering over him. It had been a while that he had been in captivity, stubble had grown on his chin and from his career record, all pictures and footage of him on the media always had him clean shaven.

"Who…who are you?"

"A friend." Trip did a quick scan of the prison, nobody else was present inside. "Where's the rest of your party?"

"Gone." His eyes were wide with an undulating fear, "How are you going to get us out?"

"Don't worry my friend. I've got a plan. What has happened since your disappearance?"

"Some gray things swarmed the shuttle that I was on, attacked my friends, aides and crew. I was knocked out before I got hit and then I woke up here. The elites that found me said that I was to be attending an important conference about the relations between them and us and I would be fine until they sent me back to humanity's arms." He glanced around his cell, "They're not one for their hospitality are they?"

At least the ambassador retained a trace of humor. Trip smiled, his favorite politicians who could make those who listened laugh.

"The elites holding you are known as the Vahkai, a secret organization similar to a Templar about being the forefront of the species advancement. These guys are under investigation from me and my team for attempting to wage war against the UNSC."

"You mean they're not the elites I was originally meeting with?"

"I know some others, but at this time, I'm going to need you to stay put." Trip pulled out a flat device from his utilities, "I've been working with your assistant Morand to try and find you. She's on an ONI prowler that will provide reinforcements to aid me. Now stay here. Help will be on the way."

"Wait!" Before Beech could reply further, Trip exited the cell. "You need to know the full scope of what's going on, it's more than just the Vahkai's private base."

If the he had critical intel, Trip needed it now. "Go, time is limited."

"Before I was called in the shuttle, the problems of the species tension on Eudemon was extremely high. Both sides want the other off and so the elites and humans have fortified their defenses in preparation for an inevitable war." That was simple facts, but Beech needed Trip to start connecting the puzzle somewhere.

"How do you know this?"

"My captor kept me updated. What I already knew and he didn't tell me was that his ambition is to get the elites off Eudemon." When Aegis didn't interrupt, he continued, "The reason why is rather strange, but I'm guessing that you saw the living compounds before you came inside the keep. Those are an example of the Vahkai's grand plans. Once the elites get kicked out, he will appear and offer asylum to the kaidons in exchange for him placed as the military head. With an army to back him, he'll then mass his fleet together to strike Eudemon."

"But won't that get the UNSC involved? And where will the Vahkai get ahold of Covie warships?"

"He's more powerful than you know. The eviction of the kaidons will make their naval force transport them to Imbel Alpha, where he will allow them inside for his terms. Once the transaction of power is complete, he will then renovate the existing ships and construct new ones in an attack fleet. He is well aware of the UNSC going to respond drastically, so he made plans to glass Eudemon. The act would not only kill millions, but also deny humanity one less place to colonize for a very long time and harshly damage the shaky relations between the UNSC and elites."

"Well we're here to stop him." Aegis said after a minute of silence. The prospect of failure hung heavily at the back of his mind, so wasting time was not an option.

He activated the controls for the barriers, earning him a confused glance from the ambassador.

"They'll know someone's been here if I left it open." He nodded understanding and allowing Aegis to proceed. He'd also have to do his part of feigning his exhaustion, despite hopes soaring of rescue. Exiting the prison blocks, he slowly made his way to the command center, completely lost of any direction. The doors all looked the same. Any map he came across made no sense and the patterns of patrols inside the keep didn't help at all.

One door led outside and after going through, he realized why the Vahkai were being so secretive in their views of a perfect sangheili population.

The walls of the compound stretched for a half mile backwards, where they loomed over the few buildings it encircled. Dark mountains shadowed the place and even from this distance, Aegis could see several mines in the mountain face. A detonation would chain the entire explosive field and pretty much obliterate it from existence.

From his viewing point, the housing had multiple elites living comfortably, judging by their size. Nobody was outside because of the strict laws the Vahkai employed to those living. Here, the elites that were willing had agreed to be evacuated out of Eudemon's troubled state into Imbel Alpha, where under the cover of the microbot swarm, lived Sovl's ideal of a perfect sangheili lifestyle. When the time came, the population would be more than willing to follow him into battle to reclaim Eudemon for themselves. If that failed, the microbots or ships in his fleet would then envelope the colony and deny the humans a habitable place to live.

"He's way too obsessed with Eudemon isn't he?"

Although as fanatically insane as it was, having your clan lineage nearly extinct thanks to war often piped many for revenge on nationalism and racial pride. Now he saw why kaidon Akuo was defiant, he wasn't like his peers, hiding in the shadows. The ambition to have the Talam clan remain living made them targets for rivals to snuff for extinction. Akuo's strong attitude was often displayed at many leaders who ended up surviving their crisis.

A snarl shot him out of his thoughts as he had been found by a trio of Vahkai warriors. Wasting no time, he had drawn his M57, firing from the hip gradually as he adjusted his aim. The closest elite's shields shredded in eight rounds while another two tore into the helmet, splattering purple blood and brains onto the floor. The two partners returned fire, bluish plasma rifles whistling as the superheated bolts impacted his left side. Shields flared up and he could feel the heat through the armor pricking at his skin. The pursuers stormed his fallback position; Trip had grabbed the first one and tossed him away, buying himself about five seconds. Focusing his full attention on the second elite, he aimed his weapon again, firing a quick burst that caught the warrior in the stomach. He reeled from the blow and Aegis spun to face his second attacker.

Narrowly dodging the now active energy sword, he seized the arm, pushing forwards into his partner. Having impaled his ally in the chest, the elite had let go, aiming his weapon again. Trip anticipated his, aiming at the center and emptying the last of his magazine from the M57 into the warrior's chest. He was moving down the hallway, reloading mid sprint before the body had fully hit the ground.

Trip sprinted into the pens with the lich. Ignoring the grunt mechanics that shouted at him, he halted at the controls onboard. He shot the grunt manning the bridge and turned on the fail-safe. The explosion of the giant carrier ship would obliterate nearly all the Vahkai airborne capabilities. Both part of their plan.

* * *

Vaal Talam pulled the energy dagger from his wrist gauntlet out of the skull of the Vahkai assassin. What blood remained had sizzled off the hot edges. It had been only a minute after they discovered of Aegis infiltration and suspected that he was involved. Vaal had evaded the lunges, finally striking when the other was weary, but still in seemingly good shape. One thing Vaal had to give to the secret order was that most of their initiates were difficult to kill.

Aegis hadn't disabled the nanobots yet, increasing his worry. His signal was patchy since being inside the structure which either meant that he was captured or dead. Vaal had already planned to assist him at the command center. Since patrols were now likely playing sentry at the corridors that led there, he had the option of the exterior.

Muscles started to burn when he was seventy feet off the ground. Covenant architecture had grooves and niches where his fingers could easily latch on. He'd climbed mountains in his youth without a safety harness, but it had been some time. In the military, if he wanted to ascend such a structure, he would've done it by banshee or a thruster jetpack. However, the physical strength of climbing was done at a young age and reinforced in case such technology failed on them. The higher he went, the more strength was required to not fall off. Fear of heights never weighed consciously on him, but his nervousness was now starting to have his palms sweat. The openings at the top of the keep would have him drop right into the command center for a hasty intervention to the surprise of the Vahkai leaders. If Sovl Talam was truly behind this, Vaal's crosshairs of the beam rifle strapped to his back would be centered on the skull of the malicious headmaster's. Sure, he was a noble headmaster who was proud of his species and clan, but revenge against humanity made him no better of an individual.

Not that when planning, he was a good individual to begin with.

An explosion rocked the whole Vahkai compound. The airfield had lit up with brilliant purple white light from the lich's detonation. The blast lit up the darkened sky like thunder, covering all the phantoms, reducing them to dust and the banshee rows were tossed away like toys in the hands of a careless child. The personnel that maintained the pens were gone as well, with several still remaining, incapacitated, burned and dead. Vaal honored one dying Vahkai by a beam rifle shot to the head. The least he could so was put a dying brother, no matter what he had done out of his misery.

Turning his attention back to the command center, Vaal settled his eyes on one sangheili responsible for all this madness.

Sovl Talam and three of his bodyguards stood opposite Trip Aegis, whom the latter was surrounded by the bodies of four Vahkai commanders.

He shifted his aim over to the closest target's head.

* * *

**The confrontation is here! Sovl's plans threaten to succeed and unspeakable dangers (swarms of nanobots) now pose a risk to Eudemon and any other UNSC world that dares to oppose the Vahkai!**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing. You give my writing purpose.**


	23. Finale II

**The Vahkai Imbel Alpha facility**

**September 21, 2558**

Aegis' anger had gotten the best of him when he rushed inside the headquarters. He took two of the best down before being attacked from behind by an energy garrote. The surprise and shock gave Sovl's bodyguards enough time to beat him down and hold him face to face with the revered leader of the secretive Vahkai. He got a good look at the armored warrior, Sovl was nothing short of imtimidating to both humans and fellow elites. There was no wonder it was rare that someone had crossed him. Those that did likely didn't live long enough to tell the tale.

"You know, I've always wanted to kill a demon. Your kind are suddenly much more vulnerable now than when they were six years ago."

"You're wasting your time." Aegis spat, "You can kill me, but you're not getting away with this."

"You seriously underestimate me demon." Sovl's spittle hit his helmet and he leaned down, using his superior size to try and intimidate him, Aegis on the other hand, wasn't fazed. "I've destroyed some of the most powerful human warships before my transfer to my war college head."

"And I've killed elites and brutes twice your size hinge head." Trip mocked him back, using the common derogatory term for sangheili. "Get over it. We've won against opponents far superior."

"You've always thought that Vaal was on your side." The news of Sovl's knowledge of his alignment with the Blades was fairly dawning on him, "He's one of us. His contempt for humanity runs deep within his own veins and he'll kill you when your guard is least expecting it."

"Not if you kill me first." Trip kept him talking, even more so by goading, "You don't even know how we knew so much about your operation in the first place. Even if I asked Vaal, I knew you wouldn't tell him the full story."

Sovl halted at that, with his operations remaining secret, he was still having the upper hand. The dispensation of this Aegis demon and Vaal, who had shown his true colors merely put a small roadblock in his way. He dully snarled, feeling that he had been outwitted. Which he had.

"You say you have leverage over me." He leaned down, inches from the visor of his captive opponent, "Yet you are here bound and weapons out of reach. I'm certain that I'm the one who has the leverage."

Aegis laughed, greatly puzzling Sovl and his Vahkai. It grew in pitch until his tears of mirth clouded his vision enough for him to blink away. "I'm not talking about me or Vaal; I'm talking about the Vahkai. Maybe, some new student in your warfare school?"

The college master paused, prudent on where to take this. "The traitor will be found and executed." He gestured to the bodyguards nearby, "Take him."

"I don't think so. This undercover spy of ours has leaked everything. Once he's escaped with my help, your crimes against the Talam government and humanity will be exposed for the world to see. You're finished Sovl, give yourself up before I make you."

"I've had enough of your lies demon!" Drawing his sword, Sovl let out a loud roar.

Before he could make another move, a thin beam sliced through the Vahkai elite to Trip's right. Shields blanked out and a tiny neat hole punctured the helmet of the ranger. He collapsed to the ground, dying instantly.

As Sovl, swung the sword with the intent of impaling Aegis, the second Vahkai used his fulcrum to swing the armored Spartan out of the way. The sword swung harmlessly through the air. The ranger that had helped Aegis, unslung his own weapon, a plasma rifle from his holster, spraying the other Vahkai bodyguards, breaching the shields and sending one in a burnt heap before he could react.

Trip flicked his foot at his fallen personal defense gun, quickly bringing up the sights to his next target and dropping him. Vaal, up in his sniper perch, ducked to avoid plasma shots from another gunman, returning fire to kill him in return.

The fire raged on as alarms blared in the room, alerting any other Vahkai to their presence. Sovl had disappeared, most likely to gather reinforcements and assault the Blades.

"Sovl got away." Vaal reported, "He's probably headed to the airfield to get air support."

"Well he's in for a big surprise. I'm going to try and cut him off; you take care of these microbots."

"I'm on it."

Aegis sprinted out of the control facility, intent on stopping Sovl from creating a disastrous war.

* * *

Up in orbit above the clustered Imbel Alpha, the UNSC naval blockade continued its boring procedure of monitoring activity around the planet as well as what they could glimpse through the thinner areas down on the surface. Since Sovl and his Vahkai had constructed their compound and the ideal camp at a thicker area, it had avoided detection for the days the navy attempted to scan of the area.

The captain in charge of the six ship task force was hunched over near his operations officer, an older man with thinning gray hair that was months away from retirement. An odd anomaly had been detected resembling slipspace rupture of an exit, but had disappeared as quickly as it came.

"I'm running diagnostics as fast as I can, but they're all reading nothing. It's as if it was a ghost had just came out and vanished."

The captain scratched his head, "Maybe it's a spook ghost ship." That was one naval nickname for the stealthy prowlers. "Get the next planetside scan as soon as possible."

"Another slipspace rupture has been detected!" The ops officer stood up, "Three more! They're Covenant ships!" Milliseconds later, the crew of the command ship peered out the bridge windows. Directly across from them, three purple white circles seemed to appear out of nowhere, followed by the shark-nosed hulls of three Covenant frigates. They flanked the single purple SDV corvette that led the group.

"Get the battle stations online!" He rushed back to his seat. All in perfect synchronization, his officers had slipped on their headphones and calmly executed attack plans. The MAC gun was being warmed and the prototype energy shield generator was beginning to charge, providing additional protection from the Covenant plasma turrets.

"Weapon safeties of the Archer missiles are disabled, target on the lead ship has been obtained." The weapons officer, a thin petite woman said, "Ready to fire on your go." Her uniform was a bit too large for her, but it was so neatly smoothed out and pristine that it hardly made a difference.

"UNSC command ship of Blockade Fleet Papa, this is the UNSC _Ballista_. You are to stand down and allow those Covenant ships into your airspace to Imbel Alpha." He was awestruck on how a transmission completely bypassed the comms officer. The respective man that was manning the station had no idea that the Ballista had contacted them, speaking directly to the commanding officer.

If the captain recalled correctly, the _Ballista_ was an old stealth frigate. It was decommissioned and stored on a moon where a giant vault of broken vessels lay to rot.

"Ballista, we are under strict orders to not move from this location. Coming from a ship that has not been commissioned for years, I will not comply with your orders."

Ten seconds later, the communications officer turned around, patching the transmission to the captain after speaking with the _Ballista_ for the first time. "The status of the ship should not be your concern. The microbots are ever threatening and the Covenant ships inbound are capable of stopping it."

"_Ballista_, how can we trust the Covenant ships?" The captain asked skeptically. This was certainly a surprise and it was likely the top naval brass wasn't informed. He had to make his choices carefully.

"They can just as easily wipe your fleet off the UNSC roster. You lay a finger on them and I'll open fire and decimate your flagship before you can do anything about it. Continue to resist me or the elite ships and I'll make sure that a report and newscast will have your name as responsibility for the biggest incident to occur since the Requiem discovery." On the other line, Drew Rayson was getting tired to dealing with the captain, he knew that he was just following protocol, but sometimes situations had to ignore those rules if one wanted to keep their lives and career intact.

"Very well _Ballista_." The captain switched to private channels, completely unaware that the Blades' ship could listen in, however she kept her eavesdroppers silent. "Blockade Fleet Papa, move to a heading of one zero five around the orbit. Let these Covies through so that they can do their work. However, keep your weapons hot and only fired if fired upon."

He got a chorus of acknowledgements from the commanding officers of the fellow ships and as one they instructed their navigators to move at the hundred and five degree headings. The Covenant ships had halted during _Ballista_'s tension heavy exchange. When the UNSC fleet had moved, they slowly sped up, not deviating from their course towards the planet.

"Thank you captain for complying. If you can oblige with my next request, I'll personally find you and buy you a drink when this is over."

The captain didn't particularly like to drink unlike most navy officers, but he wanted more of the crisis to be over so that his shortened leave could be resumed. "What else can my fleet offer you _Ballista_?"

"A nuke."

* * *

**Drew, what will you need a nuke for? The compound? A bit overkill I think.**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing everyone, you give my writing purpose.**


	24. Finale III

**The Vahkai Imbel Alpha Facility**

**September 21, 2558**

Trip Aegis swept the perimeter of the room with his weapon. He had been chasing Sovl Talam through the corridors of his giant compound. Since the layout was highly confusing to him, he instead relied on hearing, especially to the noisy doors indicating his position.

The current room he was clearing appeared to be a dead end. Sovl had maybe falsely tricked him into the wrong door while he was still gained ground away from his pursuer.

He had just moved on when suddenly an invisible force lunged out at him. Barely blocking the sword arm with his free hand, he tossed Sovl away. Still recovering from the failed surprise attack, he executed an evasion roll. Trip didn't let the respite last. He attacked from above, slugging a brutal punch that sent the college headmaster reeling back, dropping the sword. Kicking it out of his slowed swipe, Aegis hammered the side of his elbow into his gut. The blow was as powerful as a sledgehammer, making his arm suddenly explode with pain and the armor dented thanks to his blow. However, Sovl's shields completely protected him from feeling anything save for the metal cave.

"You would never understand our true strength. First it was restrained by the Prophets and now humanity is now putting our destiny as a species at risk."

"Your destiny?" Trip was getting even more shocked at how much the supremacist ideals had tainted Sovl's mind. "If you really did want to shine, you do it by civil advances. Not warfare."

"We will crush all that defy us."

"Unfortunately," Trip held a long device in his hand, "I'm going to remain defiant."

Sovl dove for his sword at the same time Trip tossed his Taser charge. The long rod's spiky end impacted him from the front. As he picked up the weapon, switching it on in a flash, the charge detonated.

Just like Aegis had planned, the massive amounts of energy released by the Taser charge had caused the shields to overload. Sovl let out a scream of agony and lunged forward, faster than lightning. As fast as his Spartan speed could allow, Trip brought up, holding down the trigger. The muzzle spat one round, punching through his armor and spewing a feather of blood from his breastplate. The sangheili had such a high tolerance to pain that it was seemingly immune and ignored the wound, letting out a bloodthirsty roar as he prepared to take the Spartan's life.

Trip fumbled with the M57, his fingers grasping the select fire switch, but failing to move it for some reason. Sovl was less than five feet away, already drawing his sword arm back for a fatal stab. It would be a pitiful way to go down, at the hands of a deranged alien hell-bent on keeping himself in high dignity.

He finally flicked the switch to full auto and let out a stream of ten rounds. The first five went through his neck, splattering purple blood all over his armor. Three of the bullets impacted right above the jawline. His skull did an amazing job of staying intact, save for three nice holes in his face. Sovl's corpse seemed to stiffen as he collapsed right where he was.

It would have been an excellent kill if it weren't for the sword.

It all happened in half a second, more than enough time for Aegis to normally dodge under the circumstances. The sizzling blade slipped out of Sovl's grasp as he died in midair. Aegis' arm was directly in the flight path and it impacted the outer shell of his armor before he even realized it was there. The plasma easily bypassed the shields, overloading and rendering them useless. Sizzling pain shot through his forearm as he let out a sharp cry, collapsing to the floor. His mind clouded his thoughts and movements. Pumping blood from the five inch rupture of his suit, his biofoam injectors had also been cut, meaning that the wound wasn't going to heal without proper medical attention. The plasma had burned the skin by the elbow, but he was confident he could return that to normal, it was the bleeding that he was highly concerned about.

Standing up with his strength, he slung his automatic on his back, using his left hand to aim the suppressed A9. It wasn't his aiming arm; however Spartans were required to operate under ever possible limitation. Trip once had battled a War Game match where his main weapon arm, his right one had been locked up in the armor, rendered useless. The purpose of the match was to increase ambidexterity and have the Spartans work with constraints that were irreparable.

He gave one last look of disapproval at the fallen Sovl Talam before heading out the door.

* * *

Aegis stopped at the control room to adjust his grip on the pistol. He had found some ghostly blue Covenant grade cable and had tied it into a knot to bind the cracked armor together and prevent excessive bleeding. It was the best he had, as trying to close it with his hand meant that he wouldn't be able to use his gun.

The control room had three sides of panels, all displaying status of various microbot swarms. Reading in the covenant language was still foreign to him, but he knew he was in the place due to the main hologram at the back displaying patches of where the dispersion had been taken place. All above were catwalks for observation of what went down below.

Trip crept up to the lone sangheili operating the terminal. He knew that it was a Vahkai member thanks to their emblem branded onto their back. At first, he felt cautious, but then the anger at his arm had began to flow through the cut and he crossed the gap quickly, pulling the trigger to down the elite's shields. In an instant, the beast had turned around, holding a needler at point blank. Tension was high between the two and he knew the elite would kill him right there. What he didn't know was that he was under orders to be kept alive for a last honorable fight against Sovl, whom the elite had no idea had kicked the bucket.

"It seems we are at a stalemate." He finally let out. The reptilian warrior snarled in response, putting the muzzle of his weapon to Aegis' chest.

"How about I make you a deal?" The offer greatly puzzled him and he said nothing, so Trip kept him going. "You deactivate the microbots and I'll refrain from putting a bullet into your skull."

The elite chuckled, a deep rumbling alien sound. "And if I refuse and kill you?"

Behind his visor, Aegis smiled, "Then you will join me in a very quick death."

Pausing, the elite rather sensed movement, looking upwards to see a half dozen Navy men with weapons on the overhanging balcony. The _Rocket's Red Glare _had responded to his call for help that he left with Beech and these soldiers had been quietly securing the facility, eliminating the higher members of the Vahkai, causing the lower ones to be briefly disorganized, allowing for easier targets. Their assault rifles had laser sights fixed to the front and they crisscrossed one another before centering on the single sangheili.

Knowing that he was outgunned and a death here would be dishonorable, he carefully moved to the consoles, typing rapidly. Behind him, Trip and the navy troopers watched his every move. Thankfully he didn't even press the buttons to call for help. There wasn't even anyone in the command center that would've responded anyway. Slowly, the colored patches over the planet's hologram faded to the default blue color, an indication that they had been deactivated.

As soon as he finished, Trip stepped forward, slamming the back of his A9 to knock him over. While the blow still kept him conscious, he was felled and quickly secured by two of the navy soldiers.

"So commander, how was my arrival?"

Aegis looked back up to the balcony. Miss Rachel Morand stood at the top with a coat on to protect her from the colder weather. She had insisted on accompanying the rescue naval team that the prowler had sent down.

"Miss Morand, your timing couldn't have been better."

Footsteps behind him caused the trio at the bottom to turn around. A single sangheili clad in ranger armor approached, holding a weapon idly, but still ready to react. The naval personnel on the other hand, snapped up their weapons.

"Easy." Aegis held up a hand, causing them to lower their rifles. He looked over to the ranger, who reached up to his helmet and pulled it off. His sharp eyes seemed to take in everything with an utter calm. The style of a sniper.

"Rak, you can stop playing bad guy now."

* * *

**With Sovl dead and the ambassador secured, it's now up to the Blades to get him back to suppress the heavy tensions on Eudemon. If he doesn't succeed, then an indefinite amount of casualties will occur. The last thing the UNSC needs is another enemy. Good news is that this story is completely written, not completely posted, as there are two chapters left, the last part of the finale and the epilogue.  
**

**Wish me luck, on Thursday, I am going to have surgery. Not only am I getting all four of my wisdom teeth pulled, there is also a cavity at the back of my mouth roof that is filled with a damaging fluid. It is going to be opened up so the fluid doesn't pool and cause harm to any sinuses located there. Should I be nervous?**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing everyone. You give my writing purpose.**


	25. Finale IV

**Border of the UNSC territory and State of Talam**

**Eudemon**

**September 22, 2558**

The heads up display of the F-41 Exoatmospheric Multirole Strike Fighter lit up with the red indicators of hostile targets. About a mile in front and three thousand feet lower, an enormous T-56 lich had been communicating with a newly fortified SASE base close to the border. Slowly behind it, an identical aircraft trailed as a backup. Sangheili armies stationed there were placed on the highest alert and by comm traffic of what little eavesdropping the UNSC was able to obtain, were about to launch their assault on Mastema to eliminate the commanders of the human side. That way, the war would be quick and the elites would dictate the ceasefire. The occupants of the lich had no idea and would have probably choked on their own teeth if they knew an advanced broadsword was trailing them back into their home airspace.

The UNSC Air Force's 724th air superiority squadron stationed in Mastema had continued high altitude passes to help ensure the sangheili of how dangerous the humans would be if they instigated a war. Airborne for nearly three hours, the two bright silver aircraft seemed to be on a normal training flight after its takeoff from Devil's Park Air Force base, but then turned sharply southward, near the border of the UNSC and Talam states.

"Frost zero one two and Frost zero one four bearing seven five." The pilot sat in the cockpit wearing the bright red visor of the aviator harness. "She's right on time."

"I got her." Frost zero one four quipped. Frost zero one two toggled his throttles, putting a little more power to the twin auxiliary jet engines. The base with the highest amount of hostile elites may be already making advances to human side. Through orbital surveillance, they had a general location of the compound, but its actual area was very close to civilian buildings. Since they couldn't initiate an evacuation on territory that wasn't theirs, the only way to stem the threat was to perform a precision airstrike.

Now this lich was leading them right to the base. Their conventional guided bombs would then damage or destroy multiple phantoms, lichs and banshees as possible. With no response from the SASE, the UNSC opted for a first strike only if there was total confirmation of the elite's aggressive movements. Te airstrike wouldn't completely stop their growing power, but at the same time, they would be missing a lot of air assets compared to the UNSC side.

"Base sighted." The pilots had been shown an image back at the briefing before the flight and were already running a match to a large spired building that the lich was headed towards.

Frost zero one four came back online, "Target acquired, performing final armament now." Both he and his wingman began cycling the computer through the sophisticated sequence of disabling safeties of their bombs.

"Let's make this quick." Frost zero one two remarked. As he sped up, an urgent call came through over their helmet sets.

"Frost zero one two and Frost zero one four, this is Command." The unexpected call was originating from Devil's Park AFB, unbeknownst to them, "You are ordered to abort mission. Stand down and RTB. Repeat, mission abort. Acknowledge over."

Although puzzled, both broadswords put in a few more commands, disarming their payload. Frost zero one four performed their reply. "This is Frost zero one four, Frost zero one two and I are standing down and RTB."

Both fighters had their undercarriages locked and they ascended over the Talam state and the nearby city of New Thansan. They peeled off, heading for the border before setting a course back to Devil's Park AFB.

"As if they couldn't do it any sooner." Frost zero one four told his wingman a few moments later.

"You're telling me." Frost zero one two replied with relief, gazing at the sprawling city beneath him. The large border area of a trench was just on the horizon and the Mastema skyline of what few skyscrapers began to appear. "Glad this mission's scrubbed. I just hope nobody else finds out how close we came."

* * *

**Imbel Alpha**

"Commander, we have a problem. The shutdown didn't cause all of the nanobots to deactivate."

"Drew, I'm limping back to the prowler and can barely hear you over the engine." Trip was actually standing inside the hangar bay with his sensors right next to her primary powerplant. "You say that not all microbots are not responding to the signal? Why?"

"Danny's theory is that they've been set to reproduce so quickly that they have a less powerful signal getting to them. In a sense, it's like an evolved independent unit. What about Sovl and the Vahkai?"

"Dead and fragmented."

The _Rocket's Red Glare_ rumbled to life as she retrieved all the personnel. Morand was helping some of the sailors escort a group of Vahkai captured during the raid to a detention block. Beech was in the infirmary, tended to by the ship's medic. Vaal and Rak had busied themselves elsewhere.

"Don't worry commander," He grinned on the other end, "I have a solution, but it's going to take a long time to repair fully."

Minutes later, the prowler had emerged from the atmosphere, now with mostly deactivated microbots, had a large gap to where it could break free. As it transitioned into space, they saw the UNSC blockade, the size of fingertips moving off from a fleet of Covenant ships.

Adrenaline flooded Trip's limbs, "Drew, are those hostile?"

"Nope." Came the reply, "Those are Akuo's ships. Both them and the UNSC are going to handle the microbots."

_**SDV Corvette Swift Brotherhood**_

"Status?" Akuo Talam looked over at the weapons officer.

"Our guns are online." The young sangheili responded, "The antimatter bomb will be loaded shortly."

"Are the human ships ready as well?"

The communications officer listened more carefully to his helmet's communicator before giving a nod, "Shipmaster, they are arming a nuke now and locked over the southern polar region."

"Weapons, prepare the pulse lasers to fire upon the largest patch of infestation. Fire when the intensity has reached a fifty five percent."

Moments later, the weapons officer placed his hand on the panel, a low bass rumble resonated through the ship as her turrets turned on the largest patch of microbots. A lance of bright purple blasts erupted from the barrels. Travelling slowly, they splashed over the thickest layer, incinerating them in countless numbers.

The UNSC flagship to his left had her silos open and a green flash emitted from inside. A large tubular object rose into the air, her bottom igniting as the nuke's safeties were removed. The warhead accelerated to the planet's bottom, where the detonation would hopefully start a chain reaction to trap any airborne nanos.

"The techs report that the antimatter bomb is ready. Transferring the remote control of the phantom to your pad."

The bodyguard materialized at his side with the handheld purple pad. Akuo removed it, toggling the controls from the phantom's mounted cameras. His familiarity with such engineering allowed him to keep the smooth flight. The bomb's spiky appearance used antimatter only as a small part of the fuel. Among the largest and most lethal of the Covenant arsenal. Being the equivalent of a UNSC tactical nuke, it had much more energy released during its payload, however if they didn't want to permanently imbalance Imbel Alpha, then a nuke would be the better option. The antimatter bomb would annihilate the majority of microbots in the atmosphere, spreading energy output by pressure inside to briefly cover the planet and erase the airborne weapon. The nuke would detonate, causing a short nuclear winter and freezing the remainder. The Covenant version had so many fail-safes in place because of the bomb's volatile nature.

Strapped to the bay of the dropship, Akuo guided the bomb to the moving clouds of microbots. High in the atmosphere, the silvery liquid latched on to the craft's sides, already eating their way through the thick armor. He had lost the controls to the engines within ten seconds of being inside.

"Detonating." His finger tapped a red button on the side, sending a signal to the bomb to release its payload a moment later.

Down on the planet, a brilliant white explosion blossomed, enveloping the clouds and vaporizing them. The layers kept the blast inside the planet and although the spread would be slow, the nuke would freeze and destroy any remnants of what the Covenant charge would miss.

Onboard the bridge of the _Swift Brotherhood_, the crew let out a loud cheer. Unbeknownst to them, the crew on the other vessels were just as thrilled.

Back aboard the _Rocket's Red Glare, _Aegis found ambassador Beech and Morand preparing their reports for a quick scheduled conference between himself, the UNSC leaders of Eudemon with Akuo Talam and the other SASE kaidons.

"How's the summit coming ambassador?"

Beech smiled, now dressed in a crisp navy blue jacket with khakis. His face had a scar running along his jawline, but he seemed to be just as new when he had been before the ordeal kicked in.

"Kaidon Talam was very generous at both the UNSC's and my attempt to halt the war. We have a ceasefire on and hopefully we can get a resolution to all of this."

"Good to hear. Talam has also illegalized anything related to the Vahkai to further prevent a totalitarian type of regime from taking over."

Beech smiled, "You know it reminds me of the twentieth and twenty first century where such things erupted in a war instantly when we used to live on Earth. Now we span colonies, enduring conflict against the most brutal enemies ever fought. Today, we are now thriving peacefully alongside beings that wouldn't have been a thought thirty years ago. Truly a proud day for both humans and elites who live here."

"A day you should be damn proud of ambassador." Aegis smiled, "My team and I will help the peacekeepers keep the place secure."

"What about the microbots?" Rachel asked.

"Turns out that those were ancient human weapon for multipurpose. It was deemed to be unstable and both military and politicians long ago had it stored away in Imbel Alpha in hard light containers, one of the few materials that resisted the microbots devouring programming. How they got out is beyond my idea."

The ship's medic tended to his arm when he boarded. Armor was removed and a tightly wound white cloth was applied with biofoam and cleansing medigel. He would fully recover within days thanks to his augmentations. A normal human would take nearly one and a half weeks.

"How is your arm?" Rachel asked.

"Looks a hell of a lot worse than it feels." He lifted it up, "It should be good within a few."

"So now that you've done your entire job has asked, what are you planning now?"

Beech saw a bit of a connection and quietly dismissed himself, taking all of his delegation tools with him.

"I'd have to check with my crew and get my payment for this one." He grinned as something sore cropped up in his arm. "Why you ask."

"Well you still owe me that date."

Aegis had totally forgotten about that one and probably the one that Morand had at the top of her mind during her time with him. Had this been at the beginning of their meetings, he would have flat out said no. Now, part of him was actually looking forward to it. A relaxing dinner with a beautiful blonde didn't seem to bad.

"Your boss tells me you like Brazilian."

* * *

**My operation begins in less than an hour. So I'll put the epilogue up too. Enjoy.**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing everyone, you give my writing purpose.**


	26. Epilogue

**State of Talam, Eudemon**

**September 24, 2558**

The delegations were in their first day, being met by Ambassador Beech, several UNSC leaders and the SASE, led by kaidon Talam. The terms to disarming both sides remained the hottest topic between the politicians. Surprisingly, the SASE had agreed to limit weapons of mass destruction and minimize naval activity. The SASE only had a dozen ships, but allowed permanent stations with all vessels and their newly commissioned flagship that was to be constructed in orbit over Talam Keep.

"You'll be fine brother." Vaal told him as they were perched on Talam Keep's main dock, where the Blades' phantom had arrived to pick him up. With such little time to spare, Aegis had been paid by ONI and accepted a job thirty seconds later.

"What are your future endeavors that your demon friend is entitling?"

Vaal looked back at Trip, who gave him a thumbs up as he spoke to someone at ONI through his helmet comms. "Something about an arms deal. He's probably securing the weapons shipment right now."

"I am still wary brother. The human who had stolen the demon armor is still out there plotting vengeance against me."

Covalus had gone dark, not appearing for days on end. The shakedown of that skirmish against Aegis at his headquarters damaged his priceless reputation and gave his business rivals their chance to outshine Covalus Security. His own company was falling apart and the new leader was struggling to keep up with the never ending problems. So far, the SASE has designated him as a potential threat and the UNSC has not done anything about it, but rather observed his activity, but so far, nothing had happened.

"You're the kaidon. The elders trust you not to just make the decisions of your state, but also your defense. Your bodyguard can only do so much, but the kaidon must always be ready to fight. Any kaidon that can't defend themselves isn't fit to lead."

"So you're saying that I step down?" Akuo initially did not support his nomination for kaidon when it had first came up, but the elders weren't having any of his protests. Every single one of them agreed.

"Not at all. Look where you've came. From a washout in a military college and now the leader of the most powerful coalition of our species making peace with humanity living next door. I doubt that even myself would be able to replicate what you've accomplished."

That said a lot to his brother and Vaal's gears turned again. Covalus was sure to strike again, making sure that Akuo was there to be in every agonizing second that revenge was exacted.

"Perhaps you won't have to fight at all."

His younger brother smiled, Vaal's ideas sometimes could be considered unorthodox to traditions of prestige and honor, but that ideal had gotten him out of several tight scrapes during his time in special operations.

"What I had forgotten was that a kaidon doesn't just fight hard. He also fights smart."

The second day was to consist of the kaidons visiting the UNSC side for the first time on nonhostile terms. Beech, Governor Florette and Akuo Talam were enjoying a walk around the lake of a private courthouse that held any negotiations. The other SASE kaidons had retired for the night, lodging in the private phantoms brought over.

Bodyguards trailed Beech and Florette, but Akuo had insisted that his bodyguard and peacekeeper force stay behind at the residences.

"Your city is one of many wonders governor." Talam wearing an assault harness, gave a short smile as they arrived back at the courthouse. "I am very glad to have been invited here. I must say hopefully that this shall be one of many visits in the future."

"Kaidon Talam, you've done an excellent job on calming down tensions on your half. It's remarkable that the violence conducted by elites were nearly eradicated yesterday."

"Problems can always arise again in the future, but we will deal with that another time."

When Akuo had left the courthouse, his bodyguards remained behind, insistent on leaving the lights on to help the kaidon make his way back. Nothing was glowing inside, what lights were left on now laid dormant. Dusk was rapidly approaching and the distant city lights had turned on in a dazzling display.

"Something is wrong here." The kaidon paused, making both the ambassador and governor halt in their tracks.

"What is it?" Beech asked.

Akuo held up a fist and drew his sword handle from his belt. No matter how many times the security personnel insisted that he leave his weapon behind, he wasn't going to separate from it anytime soon. Moonlight glimmered off of the Talam crest embroidered on the hilt. To help mask his approach, he kept it off to reduce sound and the glow.

He crept upwards to the doors, prying them open slowly.

Instantly, he was greeted with something that had been leaning on the door from the other side. He let out a gasp and both the ambassador and governor turned away, feeling their dinner and dessert creep up their throats.

Unable to take his eyes off the grisly scene of his deceased bodyguard, he activated his sword, using the glow to illuminate his way into the courthouse.

Something had torn through and killed the bodyguard and the three peacekeepers stationed at his residence. Their corpses look as if they had just been slaughtered outright rather than a prisoner interrogation. Akuo now remembered on his check in ten minutes ago and how the other line had remained silent. That meant the killer was here more than ten minutes ago.

The humans stayed outside as Akuo stepped to the courthouse's center. Kneeling down on the floor, he picked up what appeared to be a blue plastic tube with a brass cap. The other end was opened.

"A shotgun." That explained how his bodyguard had multiple pellets bleeding through the combat armor. The shotgun's blast had more than enough stopping power to break shields and tear through armor and flesh.

Standing up again, he continued his slow cautious walk, wary for any hiding spots. A faint scratch of metal upon metal was all he had to know of the trap.

Diving flat on the floor, he barely managed to avoid the grenade's explosion as it deafened his hearing for a second. The escorts around the governor shouted something at him before the entrance disappeared in an explosion of noxious sickly yellow gas.

"I was waiting for your return." Akuo spun around, catching Covalus' next shotgun blast. The pellets flashed his shields as they absorbed the blow, but another shot could kill him. He seized the sword, swinging to try and get the rogue chairman on the defensive.

Covalus rolled out of the way, cocking his shotgun again. The next shell was met by wood from a table that he had flipped as cover. Akuo reared back his foot, kicking the table and sending it crashing onto Covalus. The weak wood was hardly enough to slow him down as he simply swatted it aside into toothpicks. Pulling the trigger of the shotgun again, this time it came up empty.

"Looks like I spent too much ammo killing off your hinge head protect squad."

"A kaidon will perform the fighting himself." Akuo launched a blow, landing on his legs and sweeping him off his feet. A fist came upwards, connecting with the lower part of his helmet. Circuits busted, he lifted his head high up, and a war cry as his fury quickly drove Covalus back. The armored human was caught off guard as he grabbed and tossed him away.

He seized a pistol and fired several rounds, one lucky hit sparked off the armor.

"It is a huge mistake kaidon." He used the last word menacingly, relishing the fact that a mocking of the title would further infuriate the sangheili. "Eudemon has only one rightful owner. You hinge heads have no right to be here. You're invading even when we're not at war."

"It appears that you believe we should still be." Akuo concluded.

"The official hostilities between the sides may have ceased, but you as an individual and I remain enemies until I snuff your life from you."

Akuo chuckled, suddenly a slight deeper tone, "Then I guess the honorable thing would be to kill me like enemies."

That had just been enough for Ash Covalus, he charged straight, going for the sword. Akuo brought it out of his reach, but unexpectedly moving just how he had planned. He felt a strong hand clamp down at the base of his neck as with the sword still in hand was being forced to his head. Covalus strained as Akuo put forth an incredible amount of resistance, but there was no turning back for him. He failed, the plan was ruined and he would have to wait for a while until Akuo was vulnerable again to exact vengeance.

"My son will be there to escort you to the gates of hell." One final push was all that was needed to end Akuo's life. Searching for an advantage, he kicked his legs upwards, giving an awkward angle to Covalus and enough time for him to free his arm and twist the Spartan's. Ash let out a sharp cry of pain after something had popped inside the suit. Before either of them could mount another assault, they heard plasma fire from the roof. A large hole had been carved and a trio of armored elites in their new honor guard style peacekeeper harnesses dropped from above, using thruster packs to slow their descent.

"I'm afraid that I now have an advantage false demon." Akuo reached over, popping a small device that had been punched out in their scuffle. "I suggest you give yourself up."

He snorted arrogantly, "I don't surrender to anyone. Fucking hinge heads."

One of the peacekeepers walked up, his armor was stark white compared to the standard dark green of the lower ranks. The elite that Trip had given the first demonstration to when he had first arrived on Eudemon, Herl was appointed as Talam's commander of the peacekeeper force. Many sangheili have asked for a newer version of the honor guard as well as their improved police to be merged and thus the peacekeeper unit was born.

Covalus ignored the peacekeepers as he removed his final weapon, a long serrated edge combat knife, one of the kinds that caused the most torturous pain before claiming the victim. He had likely saved it for the kaidon's horrid death.

"How about a lesson?" Herl snarled from his stance. Covalus snarled, lunging forward at a perfectly still Akuo. Herl dove forward, grasping the MJOLNIR armor's unbroken arm, the one wielding a knife. Using his other arm, he slammed it to the floor, awkwardly unbalancing the latter. With quick reflexes, he swung the knife dangerously. The commander calmly avoided all attempts to cause him harm and wrenched an arm behind his back. He let it stay for a few seconds as Covalus steadied himself out of exhaustion. He remained still until the other peacekeepers cuffed him away, plasma rifle drawn in case the apprehended tried anything.

"Never underestimate your opponent."

"Unfortunately we'll have to work on that." Akuo's voice had differed again as he removed the voice distorter. Underneath, Vaal keyed his comms, "Brother, the assassin is now in your custody. I told you that we'd do our job in training."

* * *

**UNSC _Ballista_**

"Dinner's casual tonight. Excellent work to everyone who helped out!" Aegis announced over the intercom from the bridge. The _Ballista_ now idly paced around the bluish gas giant that Eudemon orbited. Within seconds after getting paid, it was onto another job for the Blades. Work could get busy and professional, so having a relaxed time aboard was mandatory. Their commander for one, kept his demeanor in check with this. The men and women of the Blades were just as dedicated to the team. Their tight knit bonds formed the rock solid integrity and unparalleled success rate that they had. Aegis could now boast that their record had a one hundred percent for mission accomplishment. With Covalus apprehended and in Talam's custody, they were making sure he never threatened the kaidon ever again.

The two chefs aboard prepared fish stew that was mouthwatering when wafts of it had come through the richly decorated mess hall from the galley. After the food was plated, there was a clinking sound as the commander tapped the his fork on the side of the chalice filled with ruby French Zinfandel. Everyone looked over to him as well as the others seated at the head table, Drew, Vaal, Pyra, Vasili and Roush.

"When I started this group, I had serious doubts about humans and elites living together and fighting their own. You all have exceeded my expectation as always. However, I want to call on Vaal Talam." Everyone clapped lightly as Vaal looked over next to him. "You've been with me and Drew since day one. We've shared many successes and failures, but with resolve and friendship, we've completed every task thrust upon us." He picked up his glass, "History may have made us enemies, but this ship and crew make us brothers." He raised his wine in a toast, "To Vaal!"

"To Vaal!" Every member of the Blades said in unison.

* * *

**Closing the books on the third story. Now I've been told that this is the last Blades installment. I also responded saying I have announced at the end what I will be doing:**

**These three stories, Blessed Composition, Resolve's Light and Havoc Pressure are all part of Season 1. What does that mean?**

**That means Season 2! Aegis and the Blades will be facing the ever changing human and Covenant threats with secrecy and betrayal! There will be a couple of new crew members that were not even mentioned that will be in. The first installment of the second season, Dark Vein will be out very soon. Keep an eye out!  
**

**The 37th story will be out shortly! That means a brand new cast of characters that many will love.**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing everyone. You all give my writing purpose.**


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